


Among Vampires 2

by MylittleFootballWorld



Series: The Vampire Series Edited [2]
Category: Football RPF
Genre: M/M, Mention of torture, Oneshot, Vampire AU, Violence, blood mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-08
Updated: 2017-05-09
Packaged: 2018-10-29 13:24:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 32,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10854888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MylittleFootballWorld/pseuds/MylittleFootballWorld
Summary: Sergio has long been accepted into the family and despite downsides, homesickness and the general trouble Los Blancos stick together and try their best to keep helping him and Jesé to fully adjust to their new lives. But peace doesn't last forever and before long the walls start to crumble and war is coming. After all, everybody wants to rule the world, don't they?(Excuse the awkward summary)





	1. Nothing Lasts Forever

**Author's Note:**

> Here it is. The edited version of Among Vampires 2. I worked on this for an almost embarrassingly long time but in my defense I did use two months to write a different story and then spend another two months with writer's block, so yeah. Anyways, the original part is a little more than 5,000 words long, this new part has more than 32,000 words which is why this, unlike the original, is split up in two parts. There is a lot more new content now, of course a lot is also going to be familiar for those who know the original but above all this is definitely less cringe worthy.  
> It's pretty unusally for me to post this "much" at once but since this part and the last installement to the original Vampire Series were pre-written it's possible this time. That of course also means that once both parts to this story are posted I am going to disappear for a rather long time again since it takes me ages to write new stuff and I have a lot of projects coming up after this. Also I really just suck at time management and writer's block loves me more than it should. So, I just want to take the moment to extend my thanks to those who read the story, hug those who left kudos and smother those that left comments in kisses. I appreciate all the love and support more than I can possibly say, seeing you guys leaving kudos and all the wonderful, heartwarming comments never fail to make me smile and carry me through the day on a cloud of happiness. Yes, I'm a bit of a cheese ball ^^  
> Now, enough with the rambling, I hope you'll enjoy this very new part to The Vampire Series. Happy reading

“Iker! Move your ass here now!”, Iker closed his eyes and put his book down. He was tempted to massage his temples. It was only ten in the morning and Guti had yelled for him four times by now demanding he'd take responsibility for his brothers' actions. Why couldn’t they just behave and let him be? He sighed as he exited the library and walked down the stairs to the office.

“Which one is it this time and what did he do?”

Guti paced around the room glaring daggers at a very small looking Sergio: “My memory might be failing me but I distinctly remember the first rule of hunting being, younglings don't hunt alone. Ever. Well, guess what your little sweetheart here did. And even worse, he pulled Jesé into this, too.” Iker pinched the bridge of his nose: “You have got to be kidding me. Again, Sergio? Really? I thought you understood at least that rule by now. And how dare you dragging Jesé along with you?”

“But I'm ready to hunt on my own and so is Jesé! We had everything under control.”

“Alvaro had to come and stop you from causing a bloodbath!”, Guti hissed coldly, Sergio flinched a little, “You've got no idea what could have happened, you could have been killed. You are ready to hunt on your own when we say you are. Until that happens you do as you're told.”

The blonde took a deep breath closing his eyes briefly as he regained his self-control allowing Iker to sooth him by caressing his back. “You know what this means, Sergio”, the younger one looked at Iker with pleading eyes but the disappointment in the other's eyes caused him to look away again quickly, “no hunting for three week. You’ll drink what we bring home and you are not leaving this house.”

“What about Jesé?”, the youngling was almost scared to ask. “We'll deal with him later but you can be sure he'll be punished. He should have known better”, Guti replied icily. Iker bit his neck softly: “I’m sorry about this, you know how hard it is to keep younglings under control.” The blonde purred in response enjoying Iker’s biting: “If you fail to do it, I will have to.”

“You are coming with me, Sergio, we've got a lot to talk about. And you better be damn thankful Raúl isn't home”, Iker dragged Sergio out of the office and into the bedroom they shared. Slamming the door shut furiously he turned around to face his boyfriend.

“What were you thinking?”, the hissing noise Iker made rang in Sergio's sensitive ears, “Oh, I remember, Sergio Ramos doesn't think before acting.” “Iker”, the younger one bit his lip, the pure disappointment in his boyfriend's voice made him feel even worse than he already felt.

“Do you have any idea in how much danger you put Jesé and yourself? What could have happened? You could have given away our existence, you could have been killed.”

“But nothing happened!” “Yes, thanks to sheer luck!”, Iker threw his arms in the air in frustration, “I don't even want to think about what could have happened if Alvaro hadn't been there. I don't think you understand just how serious this is, Sergio, for me, too. I’m supposed to keep you under control. It's my responsibility to make sure you adapt to the family and do as you are told and you keep running off and break the rules. If this keeps happening, Raúl will personally rip both our heads off. Not mention this is all the more serious now because you pulled Jesé into this. Sergio, please, I beg you, at least try to behave for a change”, Iker took a few deep breaths trying to calm himself down. It wasn't like him to lose his cool like this but sometimes Sergio crossed the lines.

His boyfriend carefully moved a little closer not sure whether he was allowed to touch or would do better not to come near the brunette: “Don’t be mad. I’m trying to be good but the rules are just stupid. I can hunt! I’m ready to do it on my own.” The glare Iker threw was enough to make him exit the bedroom quietly and retreat downstairs.

Jesé was the only one sitting in the bar. The youngest vampire was sitting in a dark corner nursing a blood beer when Sergio slipped into the seat next to him. One look at the younger one's pouting face told him everything he needed to know. “How long?”, he asked quietly opening the beer he'd grabbed from the bar.

The younger one growled: “Two weeks.” His brother nodded. “This isn't fair”, Sergio flinched when Jesé's fist hit the table, “nothing happened. Why are they punishing us when we didn't even do anything? This rule is stupid, who says we aren't capable of deciding when we are ready to hunt by ourselves?”

“We know you aren't”, they turned their heads to the voice coming from the front door. They hadn't noticed their father standing in the doorway. Sergio bit his lip knowing the black haired wasn't pleased. He readied himself for more yelling.

Raúl sat down at their table taking their bottles from them. “You've had enough”, he silenced their protests.

“This isn't fair, Raúl. Why do you get to make decisions for us, we are grown ups”, Jesé groaned in annoyance.

“In human years, yes. But you aren't human, not anymore. You are part of any entirely different culture, a different world now. And this world comes with different rules. We may be monsters but that doesn't mean we are irresponsible. Above all, we seek to protect our own. And we can't do that when our younglings decide they are above the rules and cause a bloodbath giving us away to hunters.”

“But-”

“Don't interrupt me, Sergio. Guti and I have been doing this for a long time. We've been raising younglings for over 500 years, we know what we're talking about when we say you won't be able to make rational decisions that will not affect our family negatively. You are out for your personal gain, as of now.”

“We're not-”

Raúl raised his voice a little to stop Jesé from interrupting him:“You wouldn't make your decisions based on what's best for your family but on what you want. Not to mention you have no self-control whatsoever and it will take you a few hundreds years to perfectly master it like the rest of us. You need guidance while you perfect your skills and your self-control. None of us naturally mastered our skills. We had to keep learning, keep training, keep getting smarter for several hundred years until we perfected our abilities. And we never stopped learning afterwards. Once you come off age, you decide when you hunt and whether you want company or not. Until then, you follow the rules and do what we tell you.”

The black haired stood up taking the bottles with him: “Now, be good and don't cause anymore trouble than you already have. We are, above all, concerned for your brothers' and your own safety.” It was obvious this was an order but the soft tone of his voice betrayed Raúl, he could never stay mad at his boys for too long.

 

Sergio didn't dare approaching Iker for the rest of the day knowing his boyfriend was still fuming with anger and trying to set things right with Guti for him. As much as the younger one appreciated the effort, he would prefer if they never talked about this again.

He spend the day in Jesé's room playing Playstation with his little brother. They ended up falling asleep curled up together in his brother's bed. Sergio didn't mind not having to face Iker's wrath for a while longer and he enjoyed spending the time with the youngest member of their family.

The Spaniard saw Iker again when he came into their shared bedroom to get some fresh clothes and shower. His boyfriend was standing at one of the windows looking out on the street. The younger bit his lip. He hated it when they were fighting, hated it when Iker was mad at him.

Sergio carefully approached his lover: “I’m sorry I got you in trouble. I promise I won’t do it again.”

“IKER”, Guti’s voice echoed through the four floors of the house and the bar downstairs. Sergio closed his eyes, he'd known there was something he'd forgotten yesterday. Iker turned to his boyfriend staring at him in disbelief. Sergio looked at him wide-eyed: “After this.” “Sergio, no”, Iker said warningly. Sergio grinned apologetically: “Sergio, yes. Sorry.”

The older one scoffed before leaving the room and running to the office. Finding it empty he moved on to Guti’s and Raúl’s shared room.

Guti stormed out of the bathroom in a wild rage. He was dressed in nothing more than his boxers as he had just come out of the shower. His usually blonde hair was bright pink. Iker could hardly bite back a laugh. Despite being aware of how serious the situation was the blonde looked absolutely ridicoulus.

“What happened?”, the brunette tried hard not to laugh out loud.

“Take a good guess, genius. You're oh-so-wonderful little darling swapped my conditioner with pink rinse. Get him under control, Iker or I will. Look what he did to my beautiful hair!” Iker was still trying not to laugh when Raúl entered the room and stopped dead in his tracks. “Fuck”, Iker muttered swallowing dryly.

“What the …?”, Raúl furrowed his brow in confusion as he took a closer look at his boyfriend, “What happened to your hair?” “Ramos happened”, his lover growled and Iker closed his eyes. “Iker, get him”, the younger one nodded and quickly left the bedroom returning a few seconds later with a very pale looking Sergio. “Raúl, I swear it was just-” “Do you remember what I said to you and your brother yesterday?”, the black haired cut him off.

Sergio nodded guiltily. His leader sighed: “I need to speak to Sergio alone. And try to that get stuff out of his hair.”

Iker barely listened as Guti complained about how uncontrollable Sergio was and that Raúl would punish him way too nicely again anway. The brunette's thoughts were with his boyfriend and his father. He was far too worried about the punishment Sergio would receive to listen to the currently pink haired's complaints.

His silence didn't seem to bother Guti at all as he re-coloured his hair.

“Does he have any idea what this re-colouring will do to my hair?”

“Do you think Raúl will punish him badly?”, Iker suddenly asked paying no attention to the blonde whatsoever. Guti rolled his eyes as he quickly bit his neck: “Iker, darling, Sergio is his son now and he will treat him accordingly.” “Oh, he's fucked.” The blonde couldn't suppress a grin: “Exactly, and tell me what you want but he deserves whatever Raúl will do to him.”

Guti raised his head when he heard his boyfriend call for him. A shark-like grin spread over his handsome features: “This ought to be good.”

Raúl was waiting for him in his office, Sergio was nowhere in sight. The blonde dropped down on his couch: “Tell me, Querido. What's his punishment for attacking my beauty?” His boyfriend rolled his eyes: “I'm not punishing him.” “Excuse me, what?”, Guti sat up on his couch staring at his boyfriend like he'd just told him he secretly was a Culé.

“Hear me out before you start yelling”, the blonde growled in displeasure but leaned back against his couch, “I don't think, Sergio is doing this just for fun. Quite the opposite actually, I suspect there is a deeper problem that's causing him to act like this. A problem we failed to see until now. He wouldn't tell me why he did this, other than “it's fun”, so it's our responsibility now to keep an eye on him.”

“Still, we shouldn't let him get away like that. What if you're wrong and he actually does this just for fun?” Raúl shook his head as he walked over to the couch taking a stand behind it and placing his hands on his boyfriend's shoulders: “Have I ever given you any reason to doubt my judgement?”

Guti groaned: “Fine, fair point. So, what do we do?” “As I told you, I will pay more attention to him and his actions now. Whatever the problem is, we will figure it out and solve it.”

 

When Guti and Sergio left for training the next day both Iker and Raúl accompanied them.

For the very first time Sergio would run a complete parkour in the forest and Iker was tense and probably more excited than his boyfriend. He had insisted on coming along despite Guti telling him not to since he was likely to make the younger one nervous.

Raúl leaned back against a tree trunk watching Guti and Sergio from a distance.

“Just try not to think too much and everything will be fine”, Iker reminded his boyfriend for the thousandths time. He was by no means the nervous type but Sergio wouldn't be the first one to get injured badly during his first parkour run. The younger one only rolled his eyes and got into his starting position. He looked at Guti who crossed his arms in front of his chest and nodded allowing him to start.

The first few obstacles were no problem at all. Sliding under several tree trunks, a few somersaults here and there, climbing up a tree and jumping from trunk to trunk, nothing too difficult.

Sergio did well until he approached “the rock”. “The rock” was a fairly large stone sitting halfway in a riverbed which had caused Sergio a lot of trouble trying to jump onto in previous sessions. However, he was determined not to let it stop him this time.

The Spaniard balled his hands to fists pushing himself off the ground and up into the air. Iker’s fingernails dug into Guti’s arm. Sergio’s feet touched the rock’s surface and for a second he felt like the king of the world but he had landed too close to its edge causing him to slip and fall back down. Raúl pushed himself off the tree trunk but remained where he stood. Iker on the other hand was next to his boyfriend within seconds: “Oh god, are you alright? Does something hurt? Talk to me!”

“For god’s sake, Iker let him breathe”, Guti rolled his eyes as he pulled his oldest son away impatiently but his eyes betrayed him clearly showing how worried he was about Sergio, “are you okay?”

The younger one nodded and sat up slowly brushing off some dust “Yeah, I'm good”, he chuckled and then groaned, “okay, laughing hurts.” As he stood up something in his back cracked loudly and Iker’s face went pale. “Iker, I’m fine. It’s nothing”, the younger one quickly assured him.

“Maybe you should stop for today”, the brunette suggested worriedly but the younger one brushed it off. “No, I can do it, I know I can. Can I go again? ”, Raúl raised an eyebrow but remained quiet.

Guti squeezed Sergio’s shoulder: “Iker’s right. It’s enough for today. Your body needs to heal and that will take an hour or two.” The younger one looked at Raúl hopefully but his leader shook his head. Sergio sighed defeatedly: ”Fine. But tomorrow, I’ll try again.”

Xabi stood behind the counter mixing Fabio a drink when they returned home. Marcelo jumped down the stairs a happy grin plastered on his face: “Raúl’s home!” The Basque rolled his eyes: “I know, darlin’ I can see him.”

His younger brother decided to ignore him and instead of replying jumped into Sergio’s arms who wasn't prepared to take on the Brazilian's full body weight and fell over. “I heard a really funny joke today, do you want to hear it?”, he smiled down at the Spaniard.

“Sure, tell me”, Sergio groaned under his brother’s weight, “but would you mind getting off me? I think you're crushing my ribcage.” Marcelo got to his feet pulling his brother off the ground and dragging him to the counter: “Xabi and Fabio have to listen, too. You'll love this one, I know you will.” James came racing down the stairs dragging an unhappy looking Gareth after him: “I want to hear it, too!”

Guti rolled his eyes, grabbed the drink Xabi had mixed for Fabio and disappeared upstairs ignoring the Portuguese's protest. Iker sat down next to Sergio at the counter putting an arm around his shoulders while Raúl leaned against a wall evidently not paying attention but keeping his eyes fixed on Iker's boyfriend all the time.

“Alright, ready? Okay, what do you call the security guards outside the Samsung shops?”, the Brazilian giggled looking at his brothers excitedly, “Guardians of the galaxy.” He fell of his chair laughing. While Sergio joined in his laughter and the others chuckled politely Xabi's expression remained unimpressed. Raúl raised his eyebrow concerned by Sergio's reaction. His laughter was too loud and his smile too bright and the way his cheerfullness didn't reach his eyes confirmed the Spaniard's suspicions. His son was trying to hide something from him.

Marcelo was slowly recovering from his laughing fit causing Xabi to roll his eyes at his childishness while handing Fabio a new drink: “It wasn't even funny.” “You are a meanie”, the Brazilian pulled a face, “Sergio liked my joke.”

“But that's just because both of you have a horrible sense of humor”, Alvaro replied in his brother's place jumping down the stage.

“At least we have a sense of humor”, the Brazilian snapped, “you're just two bitter, old men.” “And you’re a crybaby”, the Basque retorted not taking his eyes off the glass he was cleaning. Marcelo’s bottom lip started quivering, Xabi squinted his eyes: “Don’t you dare to start crying now.”

“Dad”, the Brazilian whined turning around to his father. Raúl sighed as he walked over to them shooting Fabio who was watching the scene in amusement a pained look. His son continued sipping his drink to hide his smile.

“Boys, is that really necessary? You are two grown men and you should be able to…” “Cristiano’s home”, Gareth announced looking up from his phone. Alvaro glanced at the screen: “He did not seriously just text you that he's at the front door now, did he?” The black haired groaned when the Welshman nodded: “Could he be anymore ridicolous?”

“Watch your mouth, Alvaro, this is my boyfriend you're talking about”, Fabio warned before getting up and opening the front door. He was greeted with Cristiano's smiling face.

The blonde returned the smile and kissed his boyfriend: “I'm glad you're finally back. How was your training?” “Good but I missed you.” Alvaro made a retching noise in the back earning a chuckle from Xabi. “See? That was funny, Marcelo”, the Basque looked at his younger brother pointedly.

“Oh, look a squirrel!”, Marcelo shouted completely ignoring the older one's remark as he ran outside. Iker almost stumbled over a chair as he raced after the Brazilian: “No, Marcelo don’t chase it, you don't know where that squirrel's been before! It might bite... too late.”

The Brazilian came running back showing Iker his finger: “I think it bit me. Is that blood? I feel a bit dizzy.” “Oh for god’s sake”, Xabi threw the towel he had been drying the glasses with on the counter and grabbed Marcelo, “Upstairs, now. I'm gonna get you a plaster.” “One with dinosaurs?”, the Brazilian asked innocently knowing exactly his childish behaviour was riling the Basque, who prefered adult company, up.

Looking after the bickering pair Alvaro couldn't help but grin. Xabi might be his favourite brother but sometimes there was nothing funnier than Marcelo riling him up. The black haired shook his head before going to the door: “I'm heading out, boxing.” “And I'm following you”, Gareth announced closing the door behind himself.

Raúl's eyes were fixed on Sergio once again and for a second, when no one was paying attention, he saw Sergio’s bright smile falter and then fade and a deep sadness take over his dark brown eyes. His eyes drifted over to Jesé who was standing at the top of the staircase watching his father. The movement of his head was small but Raúl fulfilled his silent request immediately following his son upstairs into the office.

“I've seen that look before”, Jesé sat down on Guti's couch, Raúl took a seat beside him, “that look greeted me every time I looked in the mirror for the past year. “ His father nodded: “I guess, it was foolish to think we managed to solve out the problem just after he was turned.”

“It's never that easy, is it? I think, Iker knows, too. But he can't help him. He's estranged from the feeling of missing his biologcal family. Makes sense after 500 years. You are, for whatever reason, still close to that feeling.”

Raúl sighed: “I'm not sure, if he will open up to me.” “You're his father, he trusts you. He just doesn't know what to make of his feelings and how to survive them, you can help him figure it out. I would do it but-”

“No, you're right. This isn't you're fight, you have enough to do with facing your own feelings and past”, Jesé rubbed over the tattoo on his wrist and Raúl grabbed his hand smiling reassuringly, “it's just a new situation for me, too. Normally I have a connection to my sons that helps me to help them, that makes them trust me.”

“He'll come around, just give him the chance to do it in his own time.” The black haired nodded: “Look after him when I can't, will you?” Jesé saluted grinning: “Consider it done.”

 

The sound of muffled sobs woke him up that night. Raúl turned on his side and found Guti looking at him sleepily. “Go. He needs you”, the blonde yawned before kissing his boyfriend shortly and turning his head back into his pillow. The black haired slowly got up, pulling on a pair of jeans he was fairly certain belonged to Guti, straightened his T-Shirt and left the room in the direction of the attic. Iker wasn’t the only one who had figured out Sergio’s favourite hiding place.

Sergio was sitting in the darkest corner knees pulled up to his chest and tears streaming down his face. Seeing the trapdoor open he tried to stifle his sobs but failed miserably. He pressed himself further against the wall when he saw Raúl enter the attic. Despite knowing it was stupid he hoped the black haired wouldn't see him and just go away again. But that wasn't the kind of person and the kind of father Raúl was.

The black haired approached him slowly watching Sergio's reaction since he didn't want to scare him off or force his presence on the younger one. When the Spaniard didn't react at all he sat down next to him quietly. They sat in silence for more than half an hour only disturbed by the younger Spaniard’s sobs. Eventually Raúl put an arm around his son’s shoulders and pulled him against his chest running his fingers through his hair. The action broke Sergio’s resistance. He curled himself up in Raúl’s arms, his hands pawing at his shirt’s soft fabric like a kitten, sobs wrecking through his body.

The black haired kept quiet allowing Sergio to cry and hold on to him as much as he needed. Trying to give the younger one a feeling of safety he pulled him closer against his chest holding him tightly.

“I miss them so much”, Sergio eventually choked out clutching the black haired's shirt. Raúl rubbed soothing circles into his back: “I know.” He waited a few moments for Sergio to say something but the latter stayed quiet. It would take time until his son would be able to open up to him but Raúl was prepared to follow Jesé's advise and wait allowing the younger to deal with his feelings in his own time.

The black haired's presence and his movements seemed to finally calm Sergio down a little. Slowly his sobs died down and soon he drifted off to sleep sighing softly, hands still clutching his father's shirt. Raúl shifted his position a little so he was able to carefully put his chin on Sergio’s head who was now peacefully sleeping on his chest.

 

Raúl stayed awake the following night. The problem was out in the open now but by no means solved. Letting Sergio cry his heart out would only get them so far. In the end everything would depend on whether the younger one was willing to open up to Raúl or not. It would be impossible for him to help his son if he refused to talk to him. The sound of footsteps interrupted his thoughts. As quietly as possible the black haired slipped out of bed hoping not to wake his boyfriend up but of course he did. “Sergio?” “Keep sleeping, love”, the black haired kissed the blonde's forehead softly and went to the door. Guti mumbled something about Raúl not staying up all night this time into his pillow and closed his eyes again. He didn't appreciate his boyfriend not laying next to him all night but he knew how much Sergio needed Raúl.

“Don’t you need to sleep?”, Sergio asked through his sobs as Raúl sat down next to him. “Don't you?”, the black haired opened his arms smiling when the younger one immediately accepted the offered hug. “I feel so lonely at night and then I can’t sleep.” The black haired brushed a few tears off his face: “Why don't you wake Iker?” Sergio sighed rubbing his knuckles over his red-rimmed eyes: “I don’t want him to be worried. I've caused him enough trouble lately.”

“Iker loves you, Sergio. No matter how much trouble you cause him, he will always be there for you. If you feel you can't open up to your own boyfriend, who will you talk to then?” The younger one quietly looked at his hands, running his fingertips over the tattoos on his wrist.

“Talking about it will help, darling. We've all been where you are now. Talking about it helped all of your brothers, it will help you, too. Even Guti and me have been there. We all lost something or left someone behind when we were turned, we know how much it hurts. But I can promise you, Sergio, it does get better. The pain will fade.”

Sergio's dry laugh sounded more like a hiccup: “When? When will I ever stop missing my family? How could I ever stop feeling horrible about leaving them behind? When will I stop missing my sister's laugh, my brother's way too tight hugs?”

Raúl didn't reply for a while. When he resumed talking his question surprised the younger vampire: “What are their names?”

“Miriam and René.” “Are you close?” “My sister has always been my weakness. With two brothers she never really had it easy but I always felt like I had to protect her. I always get emotional when I talk about her, I love her a lot”, he wiped at the tear stains on his face, “My brother René got married last year. He has a daughter, Daniela, my niece. She's my everything. I love her like my own child. I don’t see them much because they live in Sevilla, my hometown, but visited as often as possible. Whenever they come to Madrid I spend most of my time with Daniela. I love spending time with her and listening to her stories and now… I-I’ll never...”

Raúl tightened his arms around him when Sergio’s sobs became stronger again and the tears started falling again. “I had a brother, too”, the black haired said quietly after a few moments of silence. “Really?”, Sergio looked at him in surprise. Raúl nodded: “He always hated me because he felt I was mothering him and my father always prefered me over him but despite his hate for me, I loved him nonetheless.”

“What happened to him?” “He died the day I was turned.” Sergio stared at him wide-eyed for a few seconds before, in a sudden impulse, hugging him tightly: “I’m sorry.” His father was taken aback for a moment before his face softened and he returned the hug.

They hugged for a long time. Eventually Raúl felt the younger one's grip slacking and his breathing slowing and before he knew it Sergio was asleep in his arms. The black haired pulled him into a more comfortable position. “You will be alright”, he kissed his son's forehead, “I promise.”

 

Jesé sat down on the chair in front Raúl's desk putting his feet up on the smooth, wooden surface: “How is Sergio doing?” He received a glare from his father before his feet were pushed off the desk. The younger one rolled his eyes before the expectant expression on his face returned.

“We're working on it. He told me about his brother and sister but it was hard for him. Right now, he doesn't really believe that it will get better, that we are his family now and care about him. Apparently he was close to his siblings which is making it even harder for him to let go. It's hard for him to realise they are no longer part of his life but it doesn't mean they will no longer be part of him.”

“I could try talking to him.” “Jesé-” “I know”, the younger one quickly interrupted, “I'm still working through my own past but... Sergio's done a lot for me. And I want to help him. He might feel better if he sees he's not alone with his struggle. Maybe it'll help him to work through this with me.”

Raúl ran a hand through his black hair. He wasn't sure whether he should put that much responsibility on his youngest son's shoulders. He was still recovering from everything that had been done to him and Sergio would need a lot of attention and someone steady to lean on.

“That doesn't mean I'll have to do it alone. I'm pretty sure the others will be more than happy to help, too. They might not be able to do a whole lot of talking but that's something you and I can take care about. I just think, the others could help integrating him further into the family, so he feels less lonely”, Jesé had sat up straight by now obviously eager to make his point.

His father smile slightly: “It's certainly worth a try.”

His son grinned happily and stood up asking him to let him know when he felt Sergio was ready to let his brothers help him. Raúl couldn't help smile as the boy left the office, proud of how well he was turning out despite everything that had happened to him.

Trying to finally finish the book he had began reading a few days ago the black haired spend the rest of his day in the library where Guti soon joined him. “I miss you”, he said as he leaned against the chimney a blood whiskey in his hand. Sighing his boyfriend put his book down on the table: “I know. But he needs me.”

“I know”, the blonde smiled softly, “doesn’t change that I miss you.” Raúl stood up and went to his boyfriend caressing his cheek, the loving gesture said more than he ever could with words. Guti pulled him closer before kissing him gently.

In the corridor just outside the library Sergio felt a pang of guilt in his chest. He had never meant to come between Guti and Raúl. He hadn't known the blonde was suffering so much from his boyfriend trying to help Sergio work through his issues. Guti probably hated him now for taking up so much space in the black haired's life at the moment.

Sergio buried his face in his hands for a moment before running his hand through his hair. He should have never become a part of their family. Nothing he ever did was right, he always messed everything up. And now he was interfering with Guti's and Raúl's relationship.

“Isn’t it exhausting you?”, he heard the blonde ask. “Of course it is”, Sergio closed his eyes leaning his head back against the corridor's wall. He had never meant for this to happen. Ignoring Luka who worriedly asked whether he was alright the Spaniard headed down the stairs to the bar. He needed a drink and some air.

Upstairs in the library Raúl ran a hand through his black hair sighing softly: “Of course it’s exhausting but I wouldn’t have it any other way. He needs me and I want to be there for him. I love him just as much as the other boys.”

 

To Sergio's surprise Raúl joined him once again in the attic the following night. As he approached the younger one the black haired instantly felt something was off. He got down on on his knees in front of his son studying his face in concern: ” What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, I'm okay, go back to sleep”, Sergio sniffled silently avoiding the black haired's eyes. Raúl frowned extending his hand to run it through the younger one's hair but his son flinched moving a little further away from him.

“You are not okay. Sergio, what happened? Did one of your brothers do something?”, worry was now rising in Raúl. “No, of course not. I just think you should stay with Guti tonight. I really don't need you here, I'll be okay”, the younger vampire tried to stop his voice from shaking. The older Spaniard looked at him questioningly before it dawned on him: “You heard us in the library.” “I swear, I never wanted to get in your way. I didn't think it would affect you or Guti that much if you stayed with me, you should have just told me, I would have understood. I guess, you were right when you said that I shouldn’t be part of your family, I just make a mess”, Sergio hiccupped.

Raúl's expression softened and he moved closer to the younger one. Carefully cupping his face with his hands he pressed a kiss to his forehead: “Sergio, I took that back long ago. This is your family, just as much as it is mine. You are a valid part of it and you are my son. You got in no one’s way. I want to help you through this. And believe me, José would as well if he could. But he knows that he won’t be much of a help here, so he's doing the only thing he can do. He takes a step back and let's me take care about you. He wants you to get better as much as the rest of us does and all of your brothers are willing to help. I know you think you have to prove yourself to us but you don’t, Sergio. We love you no matter what happens. All of us. You don’t have to get through this all alone. We're here and we want help you, you just have to let us. And don’t ever think that you don’t matter or aren't worth the effort, you matter, you are worth it and you are more than good enough.”

Sergio leaped forward and hugged the black haired tightly burying his face in the crook of his neck: “I love you, Raúl.”

“I love you, too dear”, Raúl smiled. Taking Sergio's face in his hands one more the older one pulled back slightly: “There is no shame in asking for help, Sergio, so don't hesitate to. We all need a little help sometimes, that’s what you have a family for. We will get through this together.”

 

When Sergio came downstairs into the bar the next morning Marcelo was already waiting for him with a cup of coffee in his hand. He offered the Spaniard the coffee and then began rambling: “Raúl said you need some distraction and since I always have the best ideas, I'm gonna make it my goal of the day to distract you from whatever is bothering you. I made a list of all the things we can do. We can have a slumber party or play pranks on old, boring Xabi or you could help me catching the squirrel I found in the garden a few days ago and that I'm pretty sure is still around here somewhere but watch it, it bites or…” Sergio looked at Raúl who was sitting at the counter sipping his blood coffee while reading the newspaper and smiled.

The black haired lifted his cup towards his son returning the smile.

“Just take him out to Luka's horses”, Jesé called from the counter grabbing a beer bottle from the bar. “No alcohol for breakfast”, Raúl shot his son a warning look before turning his attention back to his newspaper. Jesé rolled his eyes in annoyance but dropped the bottle back on the counter.

Marcelo had already grabbed Sergio's arm: “Great idea, let's go see the horses.” His younger brother's eyes lit up at the mention of his favourite animals. Iker appeared next to him and kissed his cheek: “This is going to be the best day of his life.”

Sergio slapped his arm but couldn't hide a smile. His boyfriend knew him so well.

“I thought he isn't allowed to leave the house for the following three weeks”, Alvaro walked up the last couple of stairs coming up from the cellar, a bottle of blood in hand. “Let it be, Alvaro”, Iker replied in Raúl's place, “Sergio's having a hard time and we have to take care about him. That includes you being nice.” His younger brother groaned: “Oh sure, but whenever I do something forbidden I have to take the whole punishment, talk about equality.”

Raúl rose from his seat: “I will be out hunting. Tell José to join me if he ever gets out of bed.” “It's not very polite to talk about someone behind their back, Querido”, the blonde sauntered done the stairs, “but since you asked so nicely, I will of course keep you company during your hunt.” Raúl shook his head with a fond smile before heading out of the door: “Iker, I am expecting a very important phone call today. In case someone from Liverpool should call, alert me immediately.”

Xabi almost choked on his drink when his father mentioned Liverpool. He hadn't been to that city in centuries.

 

Iker paced around restlessly. Guti and Raúl had been gone for hours. He was beginning to worry, a lot.

“What could possibly take them that long? I called both of them probably twenty times by now and they never picked up”, Iker dropped down on his bed. Fabio shrugged not knowing exactly how to reply. “I wonder why Raúl expects a call from Liverpool. I feel like there's something going on he's not telling us about”, the blonde said sitting down beside him, “and why that call is apparently never going to come.”

The brunette nodded absentmindedly, his worry only increasing as he remembered Guti and Raúl weren't the only ones missing. “Maybe we should send Luka to the stables. Marcelo took Sergio to see Luka's horses maybe they're still there.” Fabio nodded leaving the room to find the Croatian. His place beside Iker was suddenly taken by Xabi. “Why do you think Raúl was expecting a call from Liverpool? Do you think something happened there?” His older brother rolled his eyes: “If anything had happened you'd know, you check on the situation in Liverpool on a daily basis.” “I'm just saying it's weird he's back in contact with them all of a sudden”, Xabi replied defensively crossing his arms in front of his chest.

Iker stood up: “I'm gonna head back to the office in case that call does arrive.” The Basque trailed after him. The brunette had never seen his brother like that. Confidence and a confident exterior meant everything to the younger one. Seeing him this nervous now only proved once again that something important had happened in Liverpool all those centuries ago. If only he would finally agree to talk about it.

Just as he stepped through the door the phone rang. Shooting Xabi a surprised look he answered the call.

“Casillas.”

“Iker, good to hear your voice”, despite being blessed with the ability to speak in tongues the thick accent made it almost impossible to understand the person speaking, “it's Steven, I actually wanted to talk to Raúl.”

“Hey Steven”, Xabi's face turned pale at the mention of the Reds' leader's name, “that might prove to be a little difficult. Neither Raúl nor Guti has been seen since this morning. They went hunting and didn't return yet.”

After a few moments of silence Steven spoke again: “Iker, I'm afraid I have to go. I don't know how much Raúl told you but time's too short for big explanations now. I'm sending someone to you and will talk to you again soon.”

The obvious worry in the other vampire's voice set the brunette even further on edge. Something was off and whatever it was Steven seemed to know something. Xabi was still staring at the phone in Iker's hand completely lost in thoughts. He snapped out of his thoughts when Fabio entered the office a little breathless.

“Iker, Luka just informed me that he found Marcelo unconscious at the stables. No sign of Sergio.” His older brother stared at him in shock for a second before turning to Xabi: “Get there, take care about Marcelo. Fabio, get the others. Even if we have to tear Madrid apart, we will find them.”

 

“Nothing!”, Iker send the table crashing against the wall. Alvaro grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the furniture: “Trashing the bar won't help us find them.” “Then what will?”, his older brother hissed, “we searched everywhere. And we can't enter the wolves' districts unless we want to be killed.”

“I doubt they'd be stupid enough to try and take Sergio again and they wouldn't last a chance against Guti and Raúl, especially both of them together”, Fabio tried to reassure the brunette as he led him into the upstairs office. Iker sank down on the chair Raúl would usually sit in burying his face in his hands. Fabio patted his back trying to comfort his brother somehow but he knew nothing he did would stop the numbing pain of knowing your loved ones were in danger.

Alvaro announced: “The others are on their way back. No sign of Raúl, Guti or Sergio but Cristiano reported several dead Culés at the Cabezas de Hierro.” “Culés?”, Fabio furrowed his brow, “”What are Culés doing in Madrid?”

Iker rose from his chair: “The Culés wouldn't go through all the trouble of coming all the way from Barcelona without having something in mind. I bet they could tell us where we'll find Guti, Raúl and Sergio Let's get downstairs. I need to ask Cris a few questions.”

Within seconds they stood downstairs in the bar.

Iker approached his Portuguese brother quickly: “Cris, did you find anything else than dead Culés?” “Well there's obviously been a fight and I could still smell Guti and Raúl but the trail was almost cold when I got there. That fight happened a while back”, the black haired replied. His older brother sighed: “Same as with Sergio. I bet the Culés did something to throw us off their trail. Usually I can detect Sergio's smell everywhere but this time I couldn't find anything when I got to the stables. We have to get to Barcelona. Now.”

“Aw, someone’s looking for Mummy and Daddy?”, Iker spun around at the sound of the all too familiar voice. Jesé who was sitting in the bar with Cristiano narrowed his eyes: “Messi.”

“Brave to come here all by yourself. Who's gonna protect you now?”, Alvaro growled as he and his brothers entered the bar, “I thought I'd smelled a rat enter the house.” “You're hurting my feelings, Alvarito”, Messi teased, pleased with himself when Alvaro tried to attack him but was held back by Xabi who shook his head shortly.

“What do you want from us, Messi?”, Iker turned back to him once he was sure Xabi could handle Alvaro by himself. “I am here to deliver a message concerning Mummy and Daddy.”

The brunette immediately grabbed the smaller vampire at the front of his shirt: “What have you done to them? I swear to god if you hurt them-” Messi freed himself from his opponents grip, brushing off non-existent dust: “All of this is really awfully terrifying but unless you don't want them back, which I can absolutely understand, I suggest you remember your manners, if you've ever been taught any.” While Messi smiled sweetly Alvaro growled lowly: “How can a person that short be that evil?” Xabi shrugged in response.

“Now, if we could all focus again, Xavi sends me. He wants to have a little chat with dear Iker and he suggested you come with me immediately if you want Raúl and Guti and your little lover back in one piece.”

Alvaro had barely enough time to surge forward, grab Iker and slam him against the closest wall to keep him from killing the Culé on the spot. The brunette struggled against his brother's grip trying to free himself. At the same time Cristiano grabbed Jesé having to wrestle him to the ground in order to stop him from attacking the Argentine. Messi chuckled while the black haired Spaniard tried to calm his older brother down: “Iker, listen to me. Nothing happened to them yet, they'd be even more stupid than we already know they are, if they'd hurt them. I need you to stay calm and leave Messi alive until we brought Raúl, Guti and Sergio to safety. Right now, he's our only chance to find them.”

While Iker started to slowly calm down realising his brother had a point Cristiano was still holding down Jesé who continued to struggle against his brother's relentless grip. Messi took a step away from them: “Keep your dog under control, he might hurt someone.”

A low growl escaped Jesé's throat as he all but scratched open Cristiano's arms and chest before he lunged at the Culé. Alvaro cursed loudly before he and Pepe joined the ensuing fight to separate the two vampires.

Fabio was kneeling down next to his boyfriend talking to him in a low voice worry written all over his face. Several of the scratches Jesé had left were bleeding but Cristiano didn't seem to be in pain as he assured his loved one he wasn't hurt.

Alvaro and Pepe dragged Jesé upstairs to stop him from attacking Messi once more. Jesé hissed and kicked trying to fight his brothers off in the blind rage that had taken control over him. His opponent was breathing harshly hissing in pain as he straightened his back.

Cristiano smirked: “You shouldn't have made him angry, he has quite the temper.” The Culé hissed at him but didn't deem him worthy of an answer: “Now, if we could get back to the situation at hand, Xavi doesn't appreciate being kept waiting.”

Iker clenched his jaw: “Xabi, you're in control. Make sure they all stay here.” Xabi stared at him in disbelief: “You can't be serious. Are you really considering to go with this maniac? Iker, this is obviously a trap.”

“Thanks for your input, Sherlock, I didn't realise that”, Iker hissed sarcastically, “But in case you didn't realise, this is our best and quite possibly only shot. I don’t want to be responsible for any of their deaths.” “But Iker-” “No buts. This isn't up for discussion”, Iker remained steady in his decision.

Messi clapped laughing: “Well, that was dramatic. Very enjoyable, really. But Xavi gets impatient easily and we really have to go.” Iker clenched his fists and nodded: “Fine.” He cast one last glance to his brothers trying to smile reassuringly before following the Culé.

A few hours after Iker's and Messi's departure a knock on the door startled the remaining brothers. Xabi looked at Fabio who was once again inspecting the wounds Jesé had left on Cristiano. Much to the Portuguese's pleasure the scratches had stopped bleeding a while ago and were healing quickly. Fabio returned his older brother's look and nodded.

The Basque signaled Alvaro and Pepe to follow him to the door in case they'd be faced with an enemy. Opening the door Xabi decided the person standing in front of him was even worse than any enemy could ever have been.

Daniel Agger's face displayed a look of surprise for a second before he collected himself again: “I need to speak to Iker.” “Uh, he's not here”, Xabi replied in confusion. “Not here? What do you mean, not here?”, the Dane asked sharply.

“He went to Barcelona. Messi came and-”, Fabio tried to reply in his brother's place but was quickly interrupted. “Barcelona? Fuck”, Daniel turned to Alvaro and Pepe, “you're skilled aren't you? Come with me. The rest of you stays here and doesn't move a muscle.” Cristiano rose from his seat: “Who do you think you are to give us orders?”

“I'm the one who's saving your ass, so let me”, the Dane growled, “now, do what I tell you to do and let me do my job.”

Daniel turned on his heels and left with Alvaro and Pepe close at his heels.

Cristiano turned to Xabi: “Who even is that guy?” “Daniel Agger, he belongs to the Reds. He's one of Ste- Gerrard's most trusted and skilled men”, the Basque replied halfheartedly before leaving the bar for his upstairs bedroom.

The Portuguese raised an eyebrow: “Okay, there's history there and I will definitely find out more.” Fabio shook his head but failed to hide a smile.

 

Sergio slowly opened his eyes. His head was pounding and the hard concrete floor felt cold against his skin. The Spaniard found himself wishing he'd worn something other than a T-Shirt and jeans. He sat up carefully pressing a hand against his aching head. Wherever he was, it was dark and almost impossible to see anything until his eyes had gotten used to the darkness.

Once they had gotten used to it he took in his surroundings. Three of the surrounding walls were made of stone, the fourth consisted of iron bars. A cell. Whatever had happened someone had captured and locked him away.

Slowly he got to his feet supporting himself on the closest wall. The Spaniard's neck hurt making him rub at the back of it to sooth the pain a little. He stumbled forward grabbing at the cell bars. His balance was clearly still off and the pounding in his head got worse. Sergio leaned his head against the cool cell bars and briefly closed his eyes.

He opened them again when he suddenly heard a familiar voice.

“Sergio?”, Raúl's hands closed around the bars of his own cell, “Sergio? What the hell are you doing here? José.” Guti appeared next to his boyfriend the shock was evident on his face: “Sergio. Okay, that's it. The second I get out of here I'll kill them all, I'll-”

“José, that doesn't help us now. Sergio, are you okay? Have they done anything to you?”, the black haired asked worriedly. “I don't know, I just remember being at the stables with Marcelo and then everything's just black. But I think I'm fine, my head and neck hurt though. Where are we?”

“Barcelona”, Guti sounded bitter. Sergio's eyes widened in shock.

“Don't worry, Sergio, it's going to be okay. We can and will figure this out, there's nothing to be scared of”, Raúl was quick to try and calm him a little. The younger one nodded not entirely sure if he should really believe his father.

They remained silent for a while until Sergio frowned: “Wait, what are you doing here?”

Raúl and Guti looked at each other for a second before the black haired replied: “We were hunting and they attacked us.”

 

“José, hurry it up. We should have been back home some time ago. You can't tell me you're still hungry”, Raúl crossed his arms in front of his chest, he sounded annoyed. Guti flashed him one of his trademark shark-like smiles and jumped out of the tree: “Did I ever tell you that you're never any fun? It's just a little hunting and the boys know what we're doing, no harm done.”

The black haired shook his head: “Still, I have a weird feeling and I really think we should get back home.” “You and your feelings”, the blonde chuckled and kissed his lover's cheek. Raúl sighed but couldn't stop a small smile.

Guti put his arms around his boyfriend, his hands settling on his waist. Raúl smiled at him before leaning in and kissing the blonde softly. Suddenly there was a retching noise behind them. The two vampires spun around on their heels finding themselves face to face with Xavi and his Culés.

“You should learn to listen to your boyfriend, Gutierrez. Sometimes he actually does know what's best for you”, the Culés' leader chuckled, “but then again, you've always had a problem with listening.”

“Brave to come here, Hernández. And you brought some friends, cute”, Guti retorted making Xavi chuckle once again. Instead of replying the black haired Spaniard signaled his men to attack. The blonde growled surging forward into the mass of enemy vampires.

He ripped the first one's head clean off and kicked the next one towards Raúl who didn't hesitate a second before crushing the Culé's ribcage and tearing his heart out of his chest. Bones cracked, blood spilled, screams echoed through the forest.

In a matter of minutes the two vampires found themselves surrounded by dead bodies piling on top of each other. Raúl kicked one of the Culés in the stomach before slamming his knee into his face when he found himself face to face with Xavi all of a sudden.

The Culés' leader merely grinned before punching him in the face. Raúl gasped but quickly recovered and pushing himself off the ground slammed his heel into Xavi's chest. His opponent started coughing trying to get the air that had been punched out back into his lungs.

The black haired Culé growled deeply before surging forward once more. Soon enough they were both bleeding and panting heavily. “I see, you did follow the advice I gave you last time we met and did work on your style”, Xavi spat out some blood, his trademark smirk never leaving his face. Raúl hissed before taking another swing at his opponent.

With Raúl being otherwise occupied the swarm of Culés began to overwhelm Guti. He was an incredibly skilled figther and even as a youngling, had been stronger than most vampires but the sheer amount of vampires attacking him became too much as he couldn't multiply himself. Therefore he wasn't all that surprised when one of them managed to sneak behind him and broke his neck.

The only thing Raúl heard was a loud cracking noise but his connection to the blonde immediately let him know everything he had to know. The black haired froze in shock for a few seconds taken aback by the Culés knocking his boyfriend unconscious which he as of now had thought to be impossible. Those few seconds proved to be enough for Xavi to break his neck, too.

 

“So, what do we do now?”, Sergio looked concerned. “I am afraid there isn't much we can do at the moment. These bars are secured against vampires so there is definitely no breaking them. The only thing we can do is wait and hope that Steven will draw the right conclusions when he calls and learns I didn't return home”, Raúl answered wanting nothing more than to hug his son and offer him comfort. But the bars were holding him in place and there was nothing he could do.

The black haired's head snapped up when the sound of footsteps echoed through the catacombs. His hand closed around Guti's wrist. The blonde looked at Sergio: “No matter what happens next, Sergio, stay calm. Don't try to fight or resist, don't give them a reason to hurt you.”

The younger had no time to reply as Piqué and Carles Puyol appeared in front of his cell. Grinning Piqué opened the cell door and Sergio instantly backed away against the wall. He saw shackles gleaming in the sparse light as the Culé approached. Sergio was frozen to the spot and could only helplessly watch as Piqué secured the shackles around his wrists. He felt the burning sensation immediately, the shackles were made of silver. The young vampire whimpered silently as the burning slowly began to intensify.

Raúl and Guti on the other hand had gone wild. They hissed, growled and roared and desperately tried to break the bars to get to their son. Piqué turned around smiling brightly while Puyol handed Sergio over to Dani Alves who had appeard seemingly out of nowhere.

Piqué approached the other two vampires' cell slowly: “You two better calm down, unless you want something to happen to your precious boy, of course.” “Consider yourself lucky I'm behind bars, because if I wasn't-”, Guti growled nearly animalistic. “But you are”, the Culé sneered before both him and Puyol entered the cell.

Neither Guti nor Raúl had the time to even consider attacking the two of them before a flash of silver caught their attention and they saw Alves holding a silver knife dangerously close to Sergio's throat. The black haired gripped his boyfriend's wrist tightly to stop him from attacking the Culés nonetheless. Guti's protectiveness was turning into an explosive rage which would get Sergio killed no doubt. The blonde growled deeply but tried with all his might to calm himself when his boyfriend increased the pressure on his wrist.

Piqué and Puyol cuffed both of them looking entirely too pleased with themselves before leading them out of the dungeons and upstairs to Xavi's office.

 

Xavi sat behind his desk in his enormous black chair looking extremely satisfied with himself. “Iker, dear. You took your sweet time”, his eyes rested on Messi as he spoke to the younger Spaniard. The Argentine visibly shrinked under his leader's gaze: “They caused trouble when I came to get him.” Xavi raised his eyebrows: “I'm sorry, I might be mistaken but did I just hear you trying to make excuse for a mistake that is clearly to blame on you instead of owning up to your misstep?” Messi's eyes widened and he was quick to shake his head: “Of course not. It was entirely my fault.”

“Get out”, the Argentine hurried out of the room thankful to get away without punishment. Xavi shook his head sighing before turning his attention to Iker: “So hard to get good staff these days. Everything was so much easier when the world was still uneducated and people desperate to serve.”

“What do you want from me, Xavi? Where are you keeping my family?”

Xavi looked at him in mocking disappointment: “Oh Iker, can't the two of us just chat every once in a while? You always want to talk business when I'd have so many lovely stories to tell about the world, humans or Raúl from back in the day when you weren't existent yet. And those were glorious days, I tell you.”

“Get to the point”, Iker crossed his arms in front of his chest and gritted his teeth, “I didn't come here to play games.” The black haired looked at him in amusement as he stood up. “See, that's what I like about you, Iker. You are easy to talk business with, always straight to the point”, the Culé rounded his desk and slowly approached the brunette who visibly tensed, “did Raúl ever tell you about my clan's history?” Iker swallowed a snarky comment as Xavi came closer and shook his head instead.

“I thought so”, his opponent chuckled lightly, “you see, I used to rule an empire. Tamed wolves at my command, obeying my every wish like dogs on a leash. Humans bringing me offerings to calm my wrath fearing me like a god. Vampires desperate to serve. The world at my feet.” Xavi's voice had risen to a roar the longer he continued talking raising his arms to the sky as he talked himself into a rage.

“And then?”, the black haired dropped his arms again shaking his head with a sigh, “Then, your Raúl came. Freed my wolves thereby showing humans I was vulnerable.” The growl escaping the Culé's throat almost sounded like a wounded animal: “Vulnerable. They became hunters forcing me to go into hiding. My empire. Crashed, burned, turned to ash.”

Against his will Iker couldn't help but feel some sort of pity for the older vampire. The black haired's voice, his words had captured him, forcing him to listen, stirring a feeling inside him that almost had the brunette believe Raúl had done the Culé wrong.

“But I will rebuild. And you will help me”, the black haired hissed shaking off the painful memory of his loss, “I want Spain, Casillas. And I am done waiting for it.” Iker blinked, the change in Xavi's tone breaking the spell his words had woven: “Whether you're willing to wait or not doesn't matter to me. We will never allow Spain to fall into your hands.”

“I thought you might say that. Which is why I brought in some motivation for you”, the black haired's grin was almost devilish.

The office's door opened and Carles Puyol, Gerard Piqué and Dani Alves entered. Each of them was carrying a torch in one hand and with the other dragged Raúl, Guti and Sergio into the room. Iker's eyes were immediately drawn to the silver shackles on their wrists, the pain they caused them keeping them in place. The brunette's eyes shot up to their faces. Raúl was calm and collected as he was brought in but his eyes were throwing daggers. He showed no sign of pain whatsoever. Guti was struggling against his restraints cursing in Spanish and English but much like his boyfriend without letting on he was in pain. Sergio on the other hand was silent and pale with the pain the silver caused him clearly showing on his face.

“Let them go”, Iker growled but the torches Xavi's men were carrying kept him in place. The black haired grinned devilishly: “And why would I do that? I clearly have the upper hand. So, why don't we sit and talk while we let your motivation wait in the back a little? We'll get to you in a second boys, the grown ups just quickly need to settle something.”

“No matter what he threatens you with, Iker, don't listen to him”, Guti instructed before Puyol yanked at the chains driving the silver's edge into the vampire's skin. The blonde hissed in pain but made sure to straightening his back right afterwards.

Iker's hands clawed at the armrests of the chair Xavi had pushed him into but for his family's sake he held his tongue. “Now”, the black haired Culé sat back down in his black chair, “let's talk business. Leave Spain in my caring hands and I will grant one of them freedom. Refuse my polite request and they will all burn.”

The brunette tensed in his seat. He was torn. Refusing would mean his family burning in front of his eyes. Agreeing on his conditions would sign two of their death sentences and Spain would fall into the Culés' hands and endanger the rest of his brothers. Not to mention that refusing would most likely result in the Culés taking over Spain, too.

Xavi waited for a while drumming his fingers on his armrest before he began to become impatient. A low growl escaped his throat before he nodded at Piqué moved the torch towards Raúl close enough to make him feel the burn on his skin: “This is taking too long, Iker.” Raúl gritted his teeth balling his fists. He willed himself not to scream or give Xavi the pleasure of seeing him in pain. The torch moved closer and closer to his body until he felt the flames crawl up his arm resulting in him losing his self-control and screaming at the pain.

“Raúl!”, Iker was next to him within a second but was kicked in the stomach by Piqué the very moment he reached his father. At the same time Guti fought against Puyol’s grip to somehow find a way to his lover and stop the pain but with the silver shackles burning his skin and the pain weakening his body he had no real chance to escape.

Iker turned to Xavi in a desperate attempt to help Raúl: “Stop it!” The Culés' leader chuckled amusedly raising an eyebrow: “And who are you to tell me what to do? You are hardly in a bargaining position.”

The brunette gritted his teeth but lowered his pride: “Please, just make it stop. You don't have to do this, we can talk business without anyone getting hurt.” Xavi pretended to think for a moment before signaling Piqué to move the torch away from Raúl.

The black haired was panting heavily and only able to stand on his feet by supporting himself on his captor. “Please, just let me check on him. As long as we didn't reach an agreement you have no right to endanger their lives. Should he be injured too badly, you have to grant him medical care”, Iker pleaded. Xavi seemed impressed for a moment before allowing the brunette with a motion of his hand to check on his father, he did however signal Piqué to stay close.

“Raúl”, the younger one was with him in seconds. “I'm okay”, his father sounded breathless but tried to manage a weak smile. Iker carefully placed his hands on the black haired's cheek leaning his forehead against his before moving on to check on Raúl's wounds. His body was trying to heal the damage the flames had done but his arm and part of his chest were burned badly. The wounds required instant treatment.

“He needs medical care”, Iker stated turning around to face Xavi. The Culé seemed to consider the younger one's words for a split second before signalising Piqué to pull Iker away from his father. The taller one grinned and pushed the brunette back towards Xavi.

“No, stop, you gave me your word!”, Iker yelled trying to get back to his father who was getting weaker by the second. Guti had stopped struggling a while ago and was now only able to watch in horror as the love of his life was growing weaker and he was unable to help him.

Xavi grinned brightly and for a second Iker thought he saw a wicked glint in the black haired's eyes who looked at Raúl's pain with utter satisfaction: “Oh but I didn't. I allowed you to check on him, I never said you'd get to do anything about his condition. The only way you can help him now is agreeing on the terms I've set. You get to take him home and I kill the other two and receive Spain in return for my generosity.”

“Iker, don't”, Raúl said weakly before he screamed in pain as the flames touched his body once again. “I can't let you die, any of you”,the younger one replied desperately trying hard to force the tears back and his voice to stop shaking.

“You can't give in to him, Iker”, Guti said calmly, “you'll doom everyone if you do. We trust you to take care about your brothers.” Then he gritted his teeth as the torch slowly began burning his skin.

“Time’s running out, Iker dear”, Xavi said happily, “You can’t safe them all. But at least you could safe one of them. Which one is most im-” The office door opened and Messi almost stumbled inside followed by Neymar.

“We’ve got a problem!”, the Argentine slammed the door shut and made a few steps into the room before the door was kicked open and hit him in the back knocking him down. Daniel Agger stood in the open doorway smiling sweetly: “Surprise.” Xavi growled lowly before hissing at Neymar: “What are you waiting for? Alert my soldiers!”

Alvaro threw Daniel a questioning look but the Dane shook his head: “Not worth it.” The black haired nodded and turned his attention to Messi who was regaining consciousness and slowly standing up. He howled in pain when someone stepped on his hand. “Did you miss me?”, Alvaro grinned down at the Culé before hoisting him up by his arm and throwing him into the closest bookshelf.

While Alvaro was now making his way over to Xavi Pepe had ripped out Puyol's arms and grabbed Guti and Daniel had made quick work of Piqué's head catching Raúl just in time before he hit the ground unable to stand on his own feet any longer. The second he was close enough Guti grabbed his boyfriend's hand: “Raúl, talk to me.” However the black haired couldn't do more than shaking his head trying to focus on breathing which became increasingly harder with every passing moment. The blonde's grip on his hand tightened and he wished he could take all of Raúl's pain away if he only held his hand tightly enough.

“He needs medical care, now”, Daniel stated after giving him a quick once over, “we have to get both him and Guti out of here and to the cars, I can try my best to treat them while we get away. Iker!”

The brunette managed to duck just in time before Alves could hit him in the head with the torch. The Spaniard grabbed his opponent's arm throwing him over his back before ripping his head off. Iker immediately turned to Sergio. His boyfriend had been standing frozen in shock the entire time and was still unable to react to what was happening around him. Iker was beside him in seconds and lifted the younger one up bridal-style: “Alvaro, get the hell away from Xavi, you're gonna get yourself killed!”

The black haired rolled his eyes in annoyance but for once did as his brother told him. He however couldn't stop himself from punching Xavi in the face once more which was a mistake. The Culé easily grabbed his fist before taking a hold of his shoulder with his other hand and dislocating it with a loud cracking noise that rang in everyone's ears. Alvaro screamed in pain clutching at his shoulder before he was pulled away from Xavi by Daniel who had handed over Raúl to Pepe for a second.

“Can't you listen to my orders, for once? Just this once Alvaro?”, Iker yelled not even trying to hold back his anger anymore. Daniel pulled Iker's younger brother with him to the door before offering Raúl to lean on him again so Pepe could hold Guti up properly: “We don't have time for this, we've got to get out of here. Alvaro, you like sneaking in here every once in a while don't you? Then you know a way out.”

The black haired nodded grimacing in pain: “The catacombs. We can escape through there, I have a secret passage out.” Daniel secured his hold on Raúl's waist before almost dragging him out of the room to follow Alvaro downstairs. Guti was mostly still strong enough to use his legs but required Pepe's help to walk while Iker carried Sergio out of the office.

Xavi didn't follow or tried to stop them but Iker hadn't expected anything else. The black haired knew his soldiers would be waiting for them and he wasn't willing to risk his own life when his soldiers where there to do it for him.

They hurried down the stairs into the catacombs which were soon flooded with Culés attacking them. Daniel helped Raúl sitting down before turning to the approaching vampires: “Pepe, put Guti down and come with me. Iker, Alvaro, you stay with them.”

Pepe did as he was told and joined Daniel in his fight against their enemy despite knowing they'd be soon overrun and were likely to all die. Alvaro looked at Iker who nodded at him thereby signalising him to join his brother and the Dane in their fight while the brunette put Sergio down and took a stand in front of his injured parents and his boyfriend.

Even with Alvaro's help it became more and more obvious they couldn't win this fight. Iker's eyes widened when he realised that Raúl wasn't behind him anymore but had collected all his strength and now ripped off a Culé's head who had just tried to rip Alvaro's injured arm off. “Hands off my son”, the black haired panted heavily and leaned against the closest wall for a moment before trying to stand properly again.

The Culé who had wanted to use his weakness to his advantage crashed into the next wall as Guti forcefully kicked him in the chest: “Hands off my boyfriend.” Raúl smiled for a moment before the pain overwhelmed him once again and he groaned in pained holding on to the wall to stay upright. The blonde pulled him against his chest helping him to stand as he lovingly ran a hand through his toussled, sweaty hair.

“Okay, the two of you have officially gone insane”, Iker shouted over the fighting noise echoing through the catacombs. He grabbed both of them and pulled them away from the fight. Daniel pushed Pepe and Alvaro further into one of the corridor's leading off the main one: “Guti, are you strong enough to help Raúl? Okay, let me know when he gets too heavy and I'll take him. Iker, grab your boyfriend and let's go.”

Alvaro ran his hand over the stone wall until it caught on a sharp stone: “This way.” The Dane raised his eyebrows at him wondering how the black haired could know which way to go that easily. “I cut myself on that stone every time I'm here, it's the one sure way to know I'm on the right way”, the Spaniard shrugged and lead them down the corridor and right into another one. The light grew weaker and they were soon walking in complete darkness. Alvaro's hand never left the stone wall feeling his way along the catacombs.

“Why aren't they following us?”, Iker whispered fearing they might be heard and discovered if he talked any louder.

“Because Xavi knows there's a war coming and he needs as many soldiers as possible, so he won't waste them on us. Honestly, I was counting on him to do that. From a military point of view it's the one tactic that makes sense”, Daniel explained as he helped Guti almost carry Raúl through the darkness, “how much further, Alvaro? Raúl really needs medical care.”

The black haired rolled his eyes in annoyance: “Almost there.” As the words left his mouth he felt a gust of wind hit his face. A grin spread over his face as he lead the small group towards air current coming from the opening at the passage's far end.

Bright sunlight hit their faces and blinded them as they stepped out of the dark catacombs. Iker looked back and in the distance saw the Culés' mansion. As the brunette was still enjoying the sunbeams warming his face and pulling Sergio a little closer against his chest Daniel was already giving orders again.

“Pepe, head back to the spot we parked the cars at. Take Iker along with you and get them here as fast as you can. We have to get back to Madrid so Raúl and Guti can be properly treated”, the Portuguese nodded and almost dragged his older brother along. Alvaro wandered a little away from the group holding on to his injured shoulder, clearly not in a talkative mood.

Raúl was unable to stand any longer so his boyfriend had put him down and was now talking to him in a low voice. Daniel politely turned away to give them their privacy knowing Guti was probably voicing his concern and love for Raúl. The Dane instead turned to Sergio who still hadn't spoken a word and was staring into nothing absentmindedly.

“Seems like you walked away alright, hm?”, the Spaniard turned to look at him with glassy eyes. Daniel furrowed his brow: “Or maybe not. Wanna talk about it? It'll take a while until Iker and Pepe get back.”

The younger one only kept staring at him like he wasn't even there. Looking at him a little worriedly the Dane grabbed his arm: “Maybe you should sit down, I really don't want you to faint on me. It's the last thing I need right now.” Sergio just let the older one pull him along and to the ground.

“Come on, kid, you gotta talk to me. There's no use in swallowing it all, believe me, I'd know best”, the concern was obvious on his face and in his voice. The Spaniard grabbed a few blades of grass and tore them into little pieces occasionally glancing over to Raúl and Guti.

Daniel followed his eyes and finally understood the problem: “Now, I get it. You've never seen them like this. Weak, I mean.” Sergio looked at him wide-eyed, hearing someone voice the thoughts racing through his head was the ultimate confirmation this had actually happened. So far, the younger vampire had held on to hope of all of this just being a bad dream. But Daniel had seen it, too. It couldn't be a nightmare anymore.

“None of us are invincible, you know? Even those who seem to be. I used to think Steven was untouchable, too. Strong, persistent, a fighter and born leader. I learned pretty quickly he wasn't and could very much die like the rest of us”, the Dane shrugged before patting Sergio's shoulder and getting up, “I think I'll leave the pep talk to Iker. Just stay here until they're back, kid. I'm gonna check up on Raúl.”

Daniel left and the Spaniard watched as he got down on his knees talking to Raúl and carefully examining his wounds. Guti held on to his boyfriend's uninjured hand the entire time running his thumb soothingly over the back of it.

Sergio covered his ears, his improved senses would have easily allowed him to eavesdrop on their conversation but he couldn't bare further talk of injuries and how Raúl might not survive if his wounds weren't treated soon.

When Iker and Pepe arrived with the cars Sergio almost jumped to his feet. He just wanted to go home cuddle up in bed with Iker and never get up again. He might not have been injured but the things he had seen had burned themselves into his mind and with the shock slowly wearing off he began to realise what had happened. Only now with his shoulders and his back aching the young vampire realised how tense he had been.

“Alright”, Daniel stood up and approached the cars, “Alvaro and Sergio will get in the car with Pepe. I need a steady driver to treat Raúl while we get back to Madrid and I'm just going to wildly guess, Iker's the better choice, no offense, Pepe.” The Portuguese shrugged in response and got back into his car waiting for his brothers to get in the backseat.

Sergio looked at Iker wide-eyed instinctively grabbing his hand, not wanting to be separated from his boyfriend. The brunette smiled and kissed the younger one gently: “It's okay, Nene. Alvaro and Pepe will look after you. They're your brothers, they'll keep you safe. We'll be back home soon and then I can stay with you, you just have to be a little patient.” The younger one nodded and a little reluctantly allowed Alvaro to lead him to the car.

At the same time Daniel had already helped Raúl into the car and had grabbed the first aid kit from the trunk. Guti slipped into the passenger seat twisting around so he'd be able to keep an eye on his boyfriend. Iker had never seen the blonde so worried which in return worried him just as much.

The drive back to Madrid was mostly silent, only Raúl's occasional groans disrupted the silence as Daniel provisionally patched him up.

 

“They're back”, Fabio announced opening the front door as the two cars parked in front of the house. Daniel exited the Maserati Iker had been driving before helping Raúl out of it: “We have three injured, Raúl needs treatment the most. Severe burns on his chest and left arm, did my best to treat it provisionally.” Fabio nodded helping him to bring Raúl inside the house. Guti stayed behind checking up on Alvaro and Pepe while Iker hugged Sergio tightly to assure him he was safe.

Cristiano came out of the house: “Please tell me my cars are okay. I can't believe you took my cars.” The Portuguese examined the Maserati and the BMW quickly before giving his brothers the attention he deserved. Fabio who had come back out again to bring Alvaro and Guti to Xabi shook his head briefly but couldn't hide a smile knowing this was no sign of Cristiano not caring for his family. Quite the opposite, the black haired couldn't stand the thought of anyone he loved being injured and therefore tried to ignore it the best he could to avoid worrying too much.

Xabi was already treating Raúl's burns when Fabio entered with Alvaro and Guti in tow. He carefully disinfected the wounds and smeared cream in them before taking the bandages Daniel handed him wrapping them around the black haired's chest and left arm. Raúl hissed in pain and tried to focus on the bottle of blood he was holding on to with his right hand. Daniel picked up the two bottles the black haired had already emptied.

“This will numb the pain for a while”, Xabi handed his father two pills, “They are pretty strong but the effect wears off rather quickly so let me know immediately when you need more.” The black haired nodded before taking the pills with the rest of blood from his bottle.

“He needs rest now, can you help him to his room?”, the Basque asked looking at Daniel who nodded and helped Raúl off the treatment table, “Guti, now you.” The blonde sat down on the table and waited for his son to begin the treatment. Xabi made quick work of the older one's wounds hoping he'd be finished before Daniel returned. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate the Dane's help but after everything that had happened in Liverpool centuries ago he felt awkward working with him. He was hoping he'd be able to escape a possibly uncomfortable confrontation with the soldier if their contact while treating the injured remained limited and he did his best to stay out of Daniel's way the rest of the time. Things hadn't ended well in Liverpool.

Guti wasn't nearly as badly injured as Raúl and Xabi managed to fix him up rather quickly. He gave him one of the pills and send him to rest, too. When Daniel returned the Basque was already busy looking at Alvaro's shoulder.

“You're free to go. I can handle Alvaro by myself”, the bearded vampire announced. “You sure?” “Yeah, I'll twist his shoulder back into place, give him some painkillers and he should be as good as new”, Xabi assured the Dane who nodded and left the room without another word.

Alvaro raised his eyebrow at his brother who ignored him and instead grabbed his injured shoulder: “This will hurt now.” A loud cracking noise filled the room followed by the black haired's pained scream. Xabi patted his knee: “There you go. That wasn't so bad, was it?”

“You just like hearing me scream”, the younger one retorted making the Basque laugh as he went to grab the painkillers. Xabi handed the black haired a box with pills: “Shut up and take these. You should be good again in no time, your body's starting to heal already and with the bones back in place healing is just a matter of days.”

Alvaro chuckled lightly running a hand down the Basque's back before leaving the room whistling a cheerful tone.

 

Sergio sat downstairs in the bar waiting for Iker who had taken to parking Cristiano's cars. The Portuguese would have done it himself but he was currently upstairs making sure Raúl and Guti had everything they needed to recover. The youngling's face visibly lit up as the brunette finally entered the bar and pulled him into a tight hug. Only now did the younger one realise how tense Iker was. “I thought I’d lose you”, his boyfriend mumbled against his neck burying his face there. Sergio pressed close against Iker caressing his back. He had completely failed to see how hard all of this must have been on the older one.

The brunette kissed him lovingly before running his hand through his boyfriend's hair: “I love you, Nene.” Sergio tightened his grip on him. He tried to say something but words were failing him. After everything that had happened he didn't know what to say. Iker on the other hand found the words his boyfriend needed to hear.

“You were so brave”, the brunette whispered against the younglings lips, “I am so proud of you.”

“I may vomit”, Daniel said as he passed them by completely ruining the moment but clearly not caring at all. Much to his own surprise the Dane's comment seemed to be exactly what the young Spaniard needed, a casual comment, something one of his brother could have easily said, too. Something normal amongst all the carziness.

The giggle escaping his throat surprised both him and Iker. Before either of them had the chance to say or do something someone threw his arms around Sergio.

Jesé held on to him tightly: “You better tell me you're not hurt right now or I might run all the way to Barcelona and seriously injure someone.” He felt his brother chuckle lightly and breathed out a sigh of relief, Sergio seemed to be okay. Slowly he let go of the younger one: “Sorry I'm a little late, was still checking up on Raúl and Guti. Talk about grown ups, always getting themselves in trouble.”

A bright smile spread over Sergio's face and he couldn't help but laugh. Seeing how everything at home hadn't changed, that things were still the same, Jesé was still Jesé and Cristiano was still using his cars to ignore his feelings, helped the young Spaniard realise he was safe now. This was something Xavi couldn't touch, couldn't destroy.

Iker pulled Sergio against his chest once again: “You should get some rest, Nene. You're still in shock.” The younger nodded and allowed his boyfriend to pull him upstairs. “Listen to your boyfriend and actually get some rest, will you?”, Jesé shouted after them making the younger one laugh once more which in return made him smile, too. Just the fact that he was able to help Sergio feel better made him feel less bad about not being able to be there and protect his family from Xavi when it had mattered the most.

 


	2. Everybody Wants To Rule The World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time for all hell to break lose. War is coming

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I took the title from Lorde's "Everybody Wants To Rule The World" but in my defense it is the perfect theme song for this Series.  
> Anyways, for once I won't be rambling so I hope you'll enjoy this second part to Among Vampires 2. Happy reading

Sergio slept through the rest of the day and the night until a nightmare woke him. He trashed and turned in his bed throwing the covers off him, the pillows hit the floor and he send the bedside table crashing to the floor but he only managed to wake up once Iker came rushing in, pulling him against his chest and holding him tightly.

The younger Spaniard's heart thumped wildly in his chest making him feel like it was about to jump out of his ribcage. He pawed at his boyfriend's chest desperately trying to get his breathing back under control.

“It's okay, Nene. I got you, you're safe”, Iker whispered into his hair placing a kiss on top of the youngling's head while rocking him slightly. At the same time his boyfriend was trying to put his thoughts back in order and forget everything he had just seen in his dream. The older one visibly relaxed once Sergio's breathing slowed.

The brunette ran his hand through the younger one's hair to let him know he was safe: “What happened, Nene? I heard something crash, I thought a Culé might have followed us and attacked you.” His boyfriend flinched at the mention of their enemy. “Nene, talk to me. What did you dream about?”, Iker furrowed his brow, “I know you don't want to talk about it and just forget what you've dreamed but I can't helped if you don't.”

They sat in silence for a while, Iker running a hand through Sergio's hair, the younger one staring into space. Eventually the youngling explained in a small voice what he had seen: “Xavi wanted to kill us all and Guti and Raúl tried to protect us but they weren't strong enough. He killed them and then all of us one after the other. And I was the last I had to watch Jesé die and you and-” Sergio's voice turned into a sob and he pressed his face against his boyfriend's shoulder who held on to him tightly.

“It's okay”, Iker murmured trying to calm the younger one, “I got you. It's okay.” However, no matter how hard the brunette tried the youngling couldn't stop crying. “Sergio, listen to me. I will go now and I promise I'll be right back, I'll go and get Jesé so you can see he's alive and well. It'll only be a second”, Sergio grabbed his boyfriend's shirt tightly not willing to let him go but Iker patiently untangled his shirt from the younger one's grip, “just a second.”

Iker reached Jesé's room in seconds where the younger one was playing FIFA with James and Gareth. The Colombian and the Welshman had teamed up against their brother hoping they'd be able to beat him together, with little success so far.

“I need your help”, the look on his older brother's face told the Spaniard this was serious. He wordlessly stood up and followed Iker to his and Sergio's shared bedroom. The youngling had curled up under his blanket in an effort to protect himself from the shadows he was seeing everywhere.

“Nightmare, saw all of us being killed by Xavi”, Iker explained shortly before sitting down on the bed carefully removing the blanket, “it's just me, Nene. It's okay, I brought Jesé.” Sergio was out of bed in a flash holding on to his brother. Iker watched while Jesé rubbed the youngling's back to calm him down: “Sergio, listen to their heartbeats. Focus. Their hearts are still beating, they're all alive.”

The youngest vampire took deep breaths following his brother's instructions. He couldn't all the heartbeats he heard and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when he heard every family member's heart still beating. Jesé led him back to the bed where Iker welcomed his boyfriend back into his arms.

Iker ran his hand through Sergio's hair who leaned his head against his boyfriend's shoulder while Jesé kneeled down in front of him taking his hand.

“I know it's hard. Learning that even they can be weak. But that's not the world's end. Even when they're weak, they are still strong”, Iker whispered silently, “They're not invincible but that's okay. All of our brothers would give their lives for you without thinking twice, Nene. We protect each other, all of us. Even when Guti and Raúl can't be strong, you are still safe. You saw Raúl and Guti down there in the catacombs. Both were hurt and they still made an effort and were able to help and protect us.”

Sergio pressed himself closer against the brunette tightening his grip on Jesé's hand.

“Xavi isn't invincible either, you know. From what Raúl and Guti told me, he could only overpower them because the bastard used a cheap trick to get to them. Otherwise he couldn't have beaten them and he knows that. Xavi is scared enough of them to turn to tricks in order to beat them and that says a damn lot. So, don't worry your pretty little head about stupid things like this because I can promise you this was the first and last time Xavi will ever get to them”, Jesé patted the younger one's knee and stood up, “now, get some rest and don't give Xavi that much power over your mind anymore.”

The young vampire gave Iker a pointed look as if to tell him to stay with Sergio and take good care about him and then vanished in the next second. Sergio snuggled into his bed as his boyfriend tucked him in before joining him. The brunette pulled the younger one against his chest and soon fell asleep.

 

The sun was rising when Xabi entered Raúl's and Guti's bedroom: “Alright, children, rise and shine.” Guti threw a pillow in his general direction muttering a few curses under his breath while the black haired sat up properly.

“I brought blood and bandages”, the Basque handed Raúl the bottles filled with blood who immediately took a swing of his bottle before nudging his boyfriend and handing him the other one. Their son was already busying himself with taking the black haired's old bandages off and replacing them with new ones. “Iker is gathering the others downstairs at the moment. I mean we all know something's coming and we kinda have to make up a- where do you think you're going?”, Xabi looked at Raúl displeased.

The black haired ignored him: “I have to speak to Daniel immediately and there are a few things you and your brothers need to know.” “You need rest. Whatever it is you need to talk about, it can wait. I'm your doctor, I know what's best for you so listen to me”, the Basque replied sternly.

 

Iker cleared his throat for the third time trying to silence his brothers without any success: “Alright, if everyone could just shut up now, I would really appreciate that.” Cristiano couldn't stop himself from laughing about his brother's desperate attempt to shut the other's up before whistling loudly to get his brothers' attention.

The Spaniard shot him a thankful look despite slapping the Portuguese's shoulder for laughing: “Now that I finally got your attention, we've got a lot of important things to talk about. After everything that happened I think it's safe to say there's a war coming.” Sergio gripped Iker’s hand tightly. “Not to be the one who questions everything you say but we don't know how this is going to end yet”, Gareth pointed out.

Iker turned to face his younger brother: “The Culés' philosophy and entire structure is based on power. Power they will only have if they control Spain. Xavi went as far as ambushing our leaders and kidnapping them to force our surrender, at this point he's ready to do about just anything that has to be done to get his hands on Spain.” “Point taken”, the Welshman leaned back in his chair.

James looked at Iker in confusion: “But what would they want with Spain? It's not exactly the capital of the world.” “Using your brain could help you find the answer.” “Alvaro”, his older brother hissed sharply. The black haired raised his hands defensively: “Okay, okay, sorry James, didn't mean it that way. Just a little stressed at the moment.” The Colombian smiled at him and shrugged: “It's fine, we all are.”

Alvaro scoffed and ruffled his younger brother's hair lovingly: “The Culés want Spain to up their numbers. Xavi needs a lot of soldiers to take over the world or whatever the hell his evil plan is, meaning he needs a lot of men to be turned which can't happen as long as we're still there to guard Spain. So he needs us gone.” James nodded in understanding.

Iker waited for a moment in case any of his brothers' had further questions before he continued speaking: “The point I'm trying to make is, we have got to prepare ourselves. I think, we are all aware that we can't beat them all on our own, their numbers a far greater than our own. We need help.”

Daniel pushed himself of the wall he had been leaning on: “Yeah, about that...” “No offense but this is sort off a family meeting and last time I checked you don't exactly belong to our clan”, Alvaro interrupted him. The Dane raised an eyebrow but before he had the chance to counter someone else spoke up.

“Alvaro, show some respect, Daniel is our guest”, Raúl’s slowly walked down the stairs slightly leaning on Guti who had put to an arm around his waist to help his boyfriend walk. Behind them Xabi was mumbling curses under his breath while trying to properly bandage the blonde's arm.

“Just because he's our guest, doesn't mean I have to like him”, Alvaro growled lowly.

“Remember when I said 'listen to your doctor'? This is not listening”, the Basque complained as he finally got a good look at his father's arm when he sat down with Raúl, “this is not good for you health. Your body needs all its energy to heal your wounds, so quit using it on things that can wait.”

“But this can't wait”, Raúl silenced his son with a movement of his hand, “Iker is right. There is a war coming and we need help. Which is why Daniel is here. Long ago, Guti and I made a pact with vampire clans all over Europe. We swore to support each other in times of need. The battle we will soon have to face is a time of need, so I asked them to hold up their end of the pact. Daniel being here is the sign that Steven and the Reds will honour their promise and help us.”

Xabi dropped the scissors he had just used to cut off Guti's old bandage: “Wait, what?” Daniel looked at him with an unreadable expression while the others continued talking.

“Is that why you expected a call from Steven?”, Sergio furrowed his brow in confusion. “Precisely. I've been keeping an eye on the Culés ever since I noticed their numbers have been rapidly increasing. I know Xavi, he would not pick up the pace that much if he wasn't in need of a huge army in a short amount of time. To be prepared I called the other clan leaders who are involved in the pact, Steven didn't have much time for me when I called so we agreed he'd call me back. Since Daniel is here, he drew the right conclusion from my disappearance”, his father answered.

Daniel grabbed a bottle of blood beer from the bar: “Steven and the others are on the way, should be here by tomorrow and I met Mats on the way, too. Fernando will be arriving with Steven but I haven't seen any of the others.”

Raúl nodded: “Good. I'm still waiting for Gigi to call me back, I didn't have the chance to speak to him yet because he wasn't home.”

The black haired was silent for a while staring absentmindedly into his glass before lifting his head to look at his sons: “I want to be honest with you, boys. Even with the other clans' help it is not said that we will win this war. It is possible that we will do whatever we can and lose. I don't have to explain to you what that means.” Cristiano pulled Fabio closer against his chest. Though his boyfriend's face did not show any signs of fear the black haired heard his heartbeat quickening.

“I'd hate being the one to bring bad news but there's something else you should probably know”,

Daniel announced all of a sudden, “On my way here, when I came through Germany, I passed by Munich. They're preparing to march out.”

The older vampires' faces visibly paled while the younger ones looked at them in confusion. “That's impossible. Their pact with the Culés broke long ago”, Guti's blue eyes searched Raúl's amber ones for insurance but his boyfriend looked just as shocked as he himself was about the news. “Doesn’t change what I saw. I would have spied on them but I kinda was needed here”, Daniel shrugged taking another swing from his bottle.

Raúl cleared his throat: “Thank you for that information, Daniel. Alright boys, right now there is not much we can do but wait until the other clans arrive. No one goes out hunting alone and you will inform either José or me whenever you leave the house. That applies to the younglings as much as to the older ones of you. Understood? I don’t want to lose any of you, so for once do me the favour and actually listen to me. All of you.”

“You need to rest, Raúl. You're exhausted”, Xabi said silently before he helped the black haired out of his chair and up the stairs with Guti on their heels. The rest of them sat in silence for a while staring into space and not knowing what to say. They had never seen either of them like this. For the very first time, Raúl and Guti seemed to be really worried and none of the boys would have dared to entertain the thought of breaking the new rules for a second.

Daniel had retreated back to the room he had been given a while ago when Iker finally stood up and went up the stairs. Sergio chewed on his bottom lip before following his boyfriend. Cristiano went down into the cellar where he had a few machines he could exercise on to distract himself. Fabio looked after him worriedly but knew better than to follow him and instead headed to the library with Gareth, Luka and James. One after the other the boys exited the bar in different directions but none of them even looked at the front door. A few minutes later the dimly lit room was empty.

 

Xabi helped Raúl to sit down on the bed before checking on the bandages around his chest once more. He felt Guti's eyes on him before the blonde turned to the door: “I'll be checking up on the younglings.” Giving his boyfriend a pointed look Guti left the room.

Raúl watched his son for a while before speaking: “What's wrong, Xabi?” “What do mean? I'm fine”, the Basque replied avoiding his father's eyes, his hands shook as he attempted to secure the bandages. The black haired gripped his hands, his voice was soft: “Xabi, stop.” Xabi slowly lifted his head and allowed Raúl to pull him down beside him.

“I can't help you if you don't talk to me.” “Really, I'm fine, just a little nervous because of the Reds”, the Basque looked down at his hands. Raúl placed his hand on his son's: “Don't try to lie to me. Please. This is not like you at all, Xabi. You know there is a war coming and you knew how important it was for me to speak to the boys, why would you try to stop me?”

“Because it's the only thing I can do”, instead of questioning him further the black haired waited for his son to continue speaking, “I have to fix you. You and Guti. Because if I don't do it in time it'll be too late and you will either die in the fight because you're not strong enough or my brothers will die because you can't protect them and it'll be my fault. You need all the rest and all the energy you can get to heal, I can't let you run around and use up all your strength or I won't be able to fix you in time.”

Raúl pulled his son against his chest hugging him tightly as he ran a hand through his hair: “It's okay, Xabi. Don't be so hard on yourself, you are not responsible for fixing us. You fix broken things, but neither José nor I are broken. We took a hit but we will recover. And we will always be able to protect you and your brothers but you are not responsible for assuring we can. I want to be honest with you, Xabi, I can't promise you José and I will survive this war, I can't promise any of your brothers will. But even if we don't I can promise you, it won't be your fault. You are doing everything you can and there is no need to panic.”

Xabi sighed deeply and closed his eyes listening to his father's heartbeat. “I know you want to help protect the family but helping José and me recover certainly is not the only thing you can do. Talk to your younger brothers. James, Marcelo, Luka, they are scared and they need their older brothers to be there for them. There is much more to this family than José and me. We need everybody's strength to win this war. And you and your brothers are more than capable of getting by without José's and my protection. So, stop putting yourself under so much pressure.”

Raúl pressed a loving kiss on the top of his son's head and hugged him tightly one more time. Xabi smiled and got up checking the bandages one last time before leaving.

 

Iker sat on the edge of their bed when Sergio entered crawling behind the brunette and hugging him tightly from behind. He leaned his cheek against Iker’s shoulder blade. He didn't understand what the big deal about Munich was but felt now might not be the best time to ask.

The silence seemed to stretch out endlessly as Iker stared into space and Sergio held on to him tightly. Eventually the older one pinched the bridge of his nose: “Munich is a German vampire clan that used to have a pact with the Culés a few centuries ago. Much like the ones Raúl made with the other vampire clans their pact stated they would fight for one another whenever needed. They were powerful together, rarely lost a battle. The pact broke long ago when Xavi had the person Schweinsteiger, Munich's leader, held most dear, his lover Lukas, killed. Munich seemingly disappeared for centuries. Of course we knew they were still existent but they had gone into hiding in Germany minding their own business. If they are really going to take up the fight alongside the Culés again, we're damn well lost, no matter how many clans come to our support.”

His boyfriend looked at him in surprise wondering how Iker could have possibly known what was going on in his mind since he hadn't said anything. “I can practically hear you thinking, Nene”, the older one gave him a small smile and placed his hand on top of the younger one's on his chest, “and I figured you'd have a question or two considering that you know close to nothing about our world and how it works.”

Sergio grinned before slipping through under his boyfriend's arm so he could snuggle up to him and put his head in his lap. Iker ran a hand through the younger one's hair playing with the soft strands absentmindedly.

A few minutes passed before the youngling twisted around so he was able to look at the older one: “But why would they come to help the Culés? Xavi killed the leader's boyfriend, why would they ever even consider helping him?” “We don't know if Schweinsteiger is still alive or not. Centuries passed since they'd last been seen and honestly anything could have happened. Germany has hunters, too and we have no way of knowing whether he is dead or alive. A new leader shouldn't see the problem in helping the Culés unless it is Schweinsteiger's second in command who knows what happened to Lukas, too.”

“We'll beat them”, Sergio stated as confidently as possbile in the current situation, “We're all fighters and so are the people that'll come to help us and together we'll beat them.”

Iker couldn't help but smile at the determination in his boyfriend's voice. The brunette sighed deeply: “Would you mind leaving me alone for a while? There's a lot on my mind right now and I really don't want to put it on you.” “I'll go play FIFA with Jesé”, the younger one smiled reassuringly, “just let me know when you feel better.”

Sergio got up from the bed kissing the older one softly before exiting the room.

 

“You've been at this for hours. I think it's time you gave yourself a break”, Cristiano didn't bother turning around to his boyfriend leaning in the door way and instead continued his relentless assault on the punching bag in front of him. Fabio sighed running a hand over his face. He knew why Cristiano was doing this, why he thought he had to do this but that didn't mean he would allow him to spend all night exhausting himself instead of getting some sleep.

“You don't have to do this, Cris.” “I have to be better.” “Better at what? Wasting all your energy on an inanimate object that definitely isn't to blame for the situation we're in right now?”, this time the black haired did turn around finding his boyfriend looking at him expectantly.

Cristiano shook his head telling Fabio he didn't understand but felt the blonde grab his wrist before he could turn back to the punching bag. “I know you for 400 years by now, do you really believe I don't understand why you think you have to do this? You're scared, Cris. But instead of trying to push your feelings away maybe you should try dealing with them for once”, Fabio took his boyfriend's face in his hands.

The black haired closed his eyes leaning his forehead against the younger one's: “I just want to protect all of you, I can't afford to lose any of you. I'm not good enough, yet so I have to keep training until I am.” Fabio shook his head before kissing the older one softly. “You have nothing to prove, Cris. You are one of our best fighters, you dedicate every free second to your training. You can't get better than you already are. So, instead of trying to ignore your feelings and push away the fear, talk to me about it”, the blonde said.

Cristiano couldn't help but smile as he gently kissed his boyfriend: “How do you always put up with me?” “I love you”, Fabio chuckled, “it's what I signed up for.” A bright smile spread over the black haired's face before he allowed the blonde to pull him upstairs and to bed. He could have argued of course, could have said how they had seen what the Culés had done to Raúl and Guti, how he just had to be better to beat them but he knew his boyfriend and he knew, he wouldn't take no for an answer. And maybe, he wanted to believe Fabio was right and he was good enough.

 

Pepe was slowly drifting off to sleep when the door to his bedroom opened. The light coming from the hallway blinded him causing him to pull a face and turn his head away. Darkness engulfed him once again as the door was closed and footsteps approached his bed. Lazily he opened one eye and found himself looking at James who was standing in front of his bed fiddling with the hem of his T-Shirt.

The Portuguese looked at his little brother questioningly. “I can't sleep, I-I'm scared. Can-can I sleep at yours?”, the Colombian stammered. A small smile found it's way on Pepe's face as he wordlessly opened his arms allowing James to climb into the bed and curl up in his arms.

He hugged the younger one to his chest protectively letting him know he was safe now and had nothing to fear. James sighed happily and clawed his hands into Pepe's shirt before falling asleep in no time.

 

Xabi had left a while ago when Guti entered the room. Raúl had gotten up from the bed and was standing in front of one of the windows deeply lost in thoughts. Guti came up behind him gently biting his neck: “You're thinking to much.” The blonde put his arms around his boyfriend resting his head on his shoulder. A small smile appeared on Raúl's face. “You know, I can't help it. There is too much on my mind, right now. I can't properly take care about the boys and help them work through their current worries while I'm still recovering. Barcelona messed with my mind and the boys deserve my undivided attention. I can't offer them that at the moment”, he said.

Guti took a step back running his hands down the sides of Raúl's body before stepping next to him: “Constantly worrying about this won't make it better. It'll just mess you up more. How about you actually use this time to recover? I may not be you but I think I can handle the boys for a while, it's okay.”

“I should be better than this. I know you are fully capable of taking care of our sons but I shouldn't allow this to influence me that much, it shouldn't distract me from my family. I have spend 2.000 years training my mind. Why would it fail me know of all times?”

Guti sighed: “Look, what happened was tough and you should allow yourself to get over it. Trying to force yourself to get better and just ignore what happened because you think you have to will ultimately only do more harm than good. Give yourself a break, it's okay.”

“It’s not okay”, Raúl balled his hands to fists, “We are most likely sending our sons into certain death. They know it and they need me now and I can't be there for them. How can you be so calm about this?

Guti raised his eyebrows lifting his head a little higher, a clear sign he did not appreciate Raúl's question: “Do you really believe I am calm? Do you honestly believe this situation doesn't do anything to me at all? Those are also my sons we're sending to war here. The only reason I appear calm is that I am much better at hiding my fear than you are. Don't you dare acting like I don't care at all, Raúl González Blanco because this is bullshit.”

Raúl froze slowly turning around to Guti looking at him wide eyed. Guti had never talked to him like this. The blonde was shaking slightly, fists balled, teeth gritted. Raúl immediately regretted his words, he should have known better than to accuse Guti of not caring about their sons.

“José”, he said softly. The cold anger in the blonde's voice shut him up instantly: “Don't you fucking dare say you're sorry now. I tolerate a lot of bullshit but accusing me of not caring for my sons' lives is something I can't accept. I am done with this bullshit. You are so obsessed with your own condition and worries you become completely blind to the people around you. I'm a fucking mess!”

Raúl gritted his teeth: “Don't you dare making me look like the bad guy now. I'm sorry for sharing my worries with you but at least I am capable of leaning on others and accept help when I need it and not go on a wild rampage because I can't control my own emotions!”

“Okay, that's it”, Guti stormed to the door. “Don't you dare running away right now, José”, Raúl followed him to the door but the abrupt movement caused a stinging pain to shoot through his body stopping in his movement as he groaned in pain. Guti turned around hesitating for a moment before flinging the door open.

“We are not finished here”, Raúl gritted out, “where do you think you're going?” “Who cares?”, the blonde hissed coldly before slamming the door shut behind him. Raúl stared at the door for a moment before carefully moving back to the bed hoping to ease the pain by allowing his body to relax.

 

When Raúl woke up the next morning all the anger had vanished and had been replaced by worry because Guti sill hadn't returned home and guilt because he really shouldn't have yelled at him. He ran a hand through his hair before taking a shower and heading downstairs to see if maybe Guti had simply stayed in the bar all morning.

However the only people he found were Daniel who saw sipping a blood beer and typing something on his phone not really acknowledging Raúl's presence and Iker and Sergio who were having breakfast. The black haired approached his sons. “You okay?”, Iker asked casually. Raúl sighed as he sat down: “So you heard us?”

“You weren't exactly quiet”, Sergio bit his lip holding on a little tighter to the glass in front of him, “and Guti isn't back yet, is he?” Iker ran his thumb over the back of his lover's hand: “That doesn't mean we're not safe anymore, Nene. Raúl and all our brothers are still here and if something should happen Guti would be here in the blink of an eye to protect us with his life.” Sergio nodded loosening his grip on the glass a little.

Iker turned his attention to his father who was looking at them apparently deeply lost in thoughts. The brunette nudged his shoulder lightly causing Raúl to abandon his train of thoughts: “You know him. He just needs to cool down, he’ll be back soon.” The black haired nodded not sure if he was actually believing him or not. Of course he knew Guti and he trusted him not to leave the family alone when they needed him the most. Then again, he had been foolish enough to arrogantly believe Xavi would never be able to catch him or Guti.

Another nudge made him snap out of his thoughts once more. “You're doing it again”, Iker gave him a crooked smile and the black haired returned the smile squeezing his son's shoulder briefly.

“Not to interrupt this truly heartwarming moment of love and affection but Steven just texted me, they're about to arrive and”, Daniel paused for a moment reading the new message before groaning, “great, he brought Carra, too.” Sergio laughed as he got up and patted the Dane's shoulder, earning a grin in return. Then Sergio turned around to Raúl: “So, where are we actually going to keep all the soldiers Steven and the others are bringing?” The black haired looked confused for a second before it was his turn to groan.

“Really? You think about everything but not where to keep all the people that'll be arriving very shortly?”, Iker tried to hide a grin. Raúl gave him a reproachful look: “I am only a man, too and recently I've had a lot of other things on my mind with the kidnapping, the upcoming war, recovery...” “Raúl, it's okay, we all forget stuff sometimes. We'll find a solution”, while Iker patted the black haired's back Daniel used the moment to remind them to find a solution as soon as possible.

“What about all the empty houses in the neighbourhood?”, Sergio suggested. Raúl nodded: “They should still be intact, we killed those people not too long ago. Good idea, Sergio. Wake your brothers and make sure the houses are prepared when the other clans arrive.” The younger beamed at him happily before pulling Iker upstairs to wake his brothers.

Daniel took the time to watch Raúl who had taken to his phone hoping Guti had messaged or called him. The Dane had know him for a long time now, 500 years give or take. Iker had just been turned when they first met. It had been a meeting of sorts, he had still been a youngling back then, still getting used to the life of a vampire. Raúl had impressed him. Serious and matter-of-factly, maybe even a little calculating, but friendly and respectful at the same time, a man who clearly knew what he was doing and what he had to do. Steven had often talked about him, clearly admiring the other vampire. The Dane had never quite understood why but when Raúl was standing in front of him shaking his hand with a firm grip and giving him a kind smile, he understood. At no time had Raúl been treating him like someone inferior.

Seeing him now and discovering a whole new, vulnerable side, a side Daniel wasn't sure he really wanted to know, felt wrong. Daniel wasn't one of his sons, he wasn't supposed to see Raúl weak. He felt like he was intruding on something private, something that was meant to stay behind closed doors. Daniel had never been good with feelings, compassion or consolation, meaning he had no idea what to do. He almost sighed in relief when his phone vibrated with a new message from Steven telling him the Reds were just about to arrive.

The Dane informed Raúl following him outside the house to greet his clan.

“Steven, am I glad to see you”, Raúl and Steven Gerrard shook hands smiling at each other, “Thank you so much for coming.” “I always keep my promises, we came as fast as we could. Daniel informed me of what happened, you had me really worried, Raúl”, Steven said. Raúl nodded: “If it hadn't been for Daniel you would have had a good reason to be concerned. Thank you for sending him ahead.” “I hope he didn’t cause you any trouble.” “Like I ever do”, Daniel winked at his leader. Steven rolled his eyes.

“Well, I'm glad we're all so in love here, though I am absolutely disappointed no one feels responsible for greeting me”, Jamie Carragher stepped next to Steven. “Did you hear that? I could swear I heard a voice”, Daniel tried not to laugh. Carra growled at him: “You little-” “Jamie”, Steven interrupted him before he had the chance to make use of every single curse he knew.

Carra slapped Daniel against the back of the head as soon as Steven turned his back and afterwards extended his hand for Raúl to shake: “Gotta say, I'm surprised to see you without Gutierrez, thought the two of you were inseperable.” The black haired's grip tightened on the Englishman's hand for a second while Daniel rolled his eyes groaning: “Well done, James.”

While Carra looked at Raúl in confusion and asked Daniel what he had done wrong the Spaniard turned his attention back to Steven: “My sons have been preparing the quarters for your soldiers in the surrounding houses, James, Daniel and you will be staying with us in the house.”

“Hey and I don't count?” A smile spread over Daniel's face as he pushed Carra aside to hug Fernando: “You took your time, I thought you were supposed to arrive with the clan.” “I got hungry”, the Spaniard smiled and gave him a quick kiss. “The body?” “Buried it at the graveyard, I know what I'm doing, Stevie”, Steven rolled his eyes at the unnecessary use of his nickname but smiled nonetheless.

Fernando and Raúl shook hands before Alvaro appeared offering to show the Reds where they'd be staying. The two clan leaders and Carra went to Raúl's office to catch up on each others' lives while Fernando dragged Daniel away since he'd been wanting to properly show him Madrid and his hometown south of the city for forever.

Later that evening when most of the vampires had already gone to bed Xabi sneaked down into the bar. He was positive at least Raúl had heard him but was thankful his father decided not to check up on him. Grabbing a bottle from the fridge he poured himself a blood whiskey and sat down at the bar.

He hadn't gotten a proper look at Steven but from the quick glimpse he had caught the Englishman looked good, just like Xabi remembered him. It had been centuries since he last saw or talked to him. Now he didn't know how to react. When he had left Liverpool, rather cowardly as he would now admit, he had hurt Steven, he was certain the Englishman would never want to see him again. Honestly, he couldn't blame him. But he had been just a youngling then, a youngling needing his family. He thought saving both of them the goodbye would be much less painful, never entertaining the possibility of having to face Steven eventually.

Xabi sighed taking a sip of his whiskey. His best shot was to try and stay out of his way.

“Do you regret it?”, the Basque spun around he hadn't noticed anybody else's presence. Daniel walked up to the bar sitting down beside him. “Regret what?” “Leaving him broken like that”, the Dane's face remained calm and expressionless but Xabi knew he was boiling inside.

He tightened his grip on his glass: “I didn't mean to hurt him. I thought it would be easier for both of us, I-” “No, you thought this would be easiest for yourself”, Daniel interrupted him sharply, “you didn't care about Steven's feelings. In case you forgot, you left from one day to the next without so much as a note. He blamed himself.”

“This was never what I wanted. I wanted to spare us the goodbye because it would have been way too painful for both of us and I feel horrible about it, I always have-” “But you don't get to feel bad for it, you don't get to be hurt”, the Dane interrupted him once again, “Steven gave up what he had with me for you. As long as you were there the whole world revolved around you.”

“So that's it? You're jealous because Steven dumped you for me”, Xabi crossed his arms in front of his chest not willing to allow Daniel to make him feel even worse than he already did. The Dane growled lowly: “Listen, loverboy. No matter what you'll say or do it will not erase what you've already done. Steven loved you, he would have done anything for you and you went ahead and broke his heart, so don't even think about trying to fix this with him now. Steven is happy, he has been for a few centuries now and I had to work hard to make sure he'll be okay again, you cold hearted little snake will not ruin this. Not again. So, stay away from him before I break every bone in your body.”

Both of them had gotten up from their seats by now standing only centimeters apart. Daniel was taller than Xabi but the Basque refused to let himself be intimidated. “You don't get to tell me what to do”, he hissed. Daniel snarled every muscle in his body tensing with the anger inside of him threatening to boil over.

The doorbell ringing startled both of them equally. Before either of them could utter a word Raúl came down the stairs followed by Steven and Xabi's brother. He eyed the two men for a moment before opening the door.

A smile spread over the black haired's face: “You're late.” “I know, someone”, Mats glared at Pierre, “couldn't wait to feed until we got here.” “In my defense, Marco supported me in my decision and went hunting with me”, the Gabonese said earning himself another glare. Raúl chuckled before shaking Mats' hand: “You can't imagine how glad I am to see you.”

“You know me, Raúl, whenever you need us, we answer. And we do owe you, you and you're family we're a great help to us in the past”, the German clapped him on the back. Iker took it upon himself to lead the Germans to their quarters while Raúl showed Mats the way upstairs to his room.

As his brothers and his father went back up the stairs to go to sleep Xabi looked around searching for Daniel but the Dane had disappeared God knows where.

 

Raúl's wounds were healing well much to Xabi's delight. By now he was in no need for pain medication anymore and the burns on his chest were almost completely gone. His mental state did not do as well as Guti had been gone for two days without a trace and his boyfriend was slowly going crazy with worry. They did not know whether the blonde was safe or possibly in danger. Even when talking to Mats or Steven Raúl would not let go of his phone in hopes of finally hearing from Guti.

Just like his father Iker worried for the blonde, too. He might not have been injured as badly as Raúl had been but he was currently injured nonetheless. If the Culés were to attack him they might succeed in killing him. The brunette had attempted to call or text Guti but had never received an answer.

Xabi had gone out into the city planning to buy a new suit and Alvaro had joined him. Both of them felt like they had to get out of the house for a while. Everyone was anxious, tense and slowly going crazy. Raúl had allowed them to go by themselves under the condition they'd stay together, take their guns with the silver bullets and keep the GPS on their phones activated so he would be able to determine their position at all times.

Xabi tried to ignore the occasional side glances his brother constantly threw him shoving his hands into his pockets and playing with the keys in the right pocket to keep himself occupied. “Okay, talk. I know there's something eating you up on the inside, so you better get it out now before I force it out of you”, Alvaro grabbed his brother's arm pulling him into a side street and pushed him against the wall to keep him from trying to escape. Knowing the black haired could tell when he was lying and would not leave him alone until he told him the truth, Xabi replied: “Daniel approached me yesterday. Gave me hell about what I've done to Steven and told me to stay away from him. We would have probably beaten each other up if the BVB hadn't arrived.”

“That little... who does he even think he is? He's acting like he fucking owns the place, don't you dare listening to him Xabi, he can't tell you what to do, if you feel like talking to Steven, you damn well should”, Alvaro growled dangerously digging his hands into the Basque's upper arms, “you know what, we're gonna head back home right now and I will give that asshole a piece of my mind.”

“Woah, hey, relax. We've gotta a war coming at us, I doubt this is the right time to turn against each other”, Xabi gripped the black haired's shoulder running his hands down his arms, “it would be absolutely illogical to start a fight with him now. Not to mention Raúl would personally kill us if we did.” “I just can't stand that guy and his arrogance, thinks he's so great and knows everything”, Alvaro snarled but slowly loosened his grip. The Basque slowly pushed the black haired a little further away before dragging him out of the side street: “Come on, I still need that suit.”

 

“Alright, get your guard up”, Cristiano ordered and Jesé lifted the gloves in front of his face raising an eyebrow. “You know, if you injure me badly Raúl will give you hell, don't you?” The Portuguese rolled his eyes: “Oh shut it, I have no intention of hurting you. I just want to train with you, I like you now, remember?”

Jesé chuckled before diving as his brother swung a punch right at his face: “Hey!” The black haired merely laughed before directing a jab at the younger one. He blocked him and instantly countered, Cristiano dodged the punches with quick movements. The black haired then feinted a punch with his left hand before punching his brother right in the face with the right one. Jesé groaned in pain and lifted his gloved hands to his face: “What was that about not wanting to hurt me?”

His brother quickly crossed the room a concerned look on his face: “Sorry, I didn't mean to.” The black haired moved Jesé's hands away from his face before taking his gloves off and carefully touched his bleeding nose. “Doesn't seem to be broken, you've just got to stop the bleeding”, he pulled back checking up on the rest of his brother's face quickly, “but I guess that happens when you lead with your chin.”

Jesé groaned again: “What does that mean now?” “Didn't they teach you boxing over in Barcelona?”, Cristiano handed him a cloth to put on his nose. “They don't really teach you anything there, other than how to kill as brutally as possible that is”, the younger pressed the cloth to his nose wincing slightly, “feels like it's healing already.”

His older brother breathed a sigh of relief before deciding to wait with the training until the Spaniard's nose stopped bleeding.

 

Raúl ran a hand through his hair tiredly: “This isn't going anywhere. We really need to set up a plan but everything we considered so far would put us directly in harm's way. We need to come up with something better.” “Well, we can't exactly just walk right, we can't draw them out because Xavi's too smart to fall for that and every other plan we've had for sneaking in silently would take too long and with as many people as we have we wouldn't go unnoticed for too long”, Mats crossed his arms in front of his chest leaning back in his chair.

“Well, what about Alvaro's secret passage? As far as we're concerned the Culés know nothing about it”, Daniel said. Steven shook his head: “That might work for a smaller group but we have an army we have to get in there unseen.”

Raúl sighed pinching the bridge of his nose. He wished Guti could be with him now. The blonde might not be a tactical genius but he had the best understanding of the Culés' headquaters and usually came up with crazy ideas that somehow ended up working out in the end: “There's no use in discussing this further now. Let's get some rest, consider our options for a while and get together again later.”

The other vampires nodded in agreement and stood up. Raúl went to his room while the others disappeared downstairs into the bar. Checking his phone to assure Xabi and Alvaro were fine and in no need of help he entered the bedroom instantly looking up as he recognized the familiar smell. Guti stood leaning against the wall watching his boyfriend enter. Raúl slowly slipped his phone back into his pocket exhaling sharply when he felt two arms around him. Noticing his boyfriend's discomfort the blonde quickly loosened his embrace having all but forgotten about the older one's wounds. Raúl cupped his boyfriend's face giving him a once over before leaning his forehead against the blonde's: “I'm sorry.”

Guti gave him a wry smile before kissing him deeply: “Me, too.”

“Have Xabi check on you once he's back, you're still injured”, Raúl caressed his boyfriend's cheek making him roll his eyes at the black haired's constant worry over him. The last light of the setting sun fell on them through the office's large windows as Raúl hugged his boyfriend once more, careful not to squeeze him too tightly, glad that Guti had come home.

Iker refused to let go of Guti for quite some time after the blonde entered the bar and gave his son a hug. He had been worried sick about the older vampire knowing fully well the Culés could have used him being on his own and unarmed to their advantage. He had expected the worst. As had Sergio who almost tripped on the stairs when he raced down to see for himself that Guti was back and in one piece.

“How could you just leave? I thought you wouldn't come back”, his grip tightened on the blonde's back as he hugged him. “It's okay, Sergio, I'm here. It's all good”, Guti said patting his back as he pulled away.

Slowly but surely the rest of their sons came downstairs to express their relief about Guti's return. Xabi and Alvaro renounced hugging him when they returned from their trip to the city but he knew how glad they were to see him. Instead they exchanged a few quick words concerning Guti's condition and his wounds before Raúl demanded his sons' attention.

“Did you run into any trouble while you were out?” Alvaro shook his head: “Everything's quiet. They don't even seem to have spies in the city, looks like Xavi's pretty sure of himself.” “That's what worries me”, Raúl murmured to himself before turning to the rest of his sons gathered in the bar, “it's getting late. Go get some sleep.”

Daniel was just about to go upstairs when someone grabbed his arm and forcefully slammed him against the closest wall. “Who do you even think you are?”, Alvaro growled lowly, “You have no right whatsoever to tell Xabi off. If he wants to talk to Steven he will and you arrogant dick won't stop him.” For just a moment the Dane looked genuiely surprised before regaining his composure. Gritting his teeth he shoved Alvaro in the chest: “I'm pretty sure that's none of your business.”

“It is now”, the Spaniard snarled before he attacked Daniel punching him straight in the face. The blow was strong enough to make the back of his head hit the wall behind him. He hissed in pain before baring his teeth, his eyes turning pitch-black. Before Alvaro even knew what was happening he crashed into the bar, glasses shattered, bottles broke and blood covered the floor. Having trained his speed ever since he had been turned Daniel was much faster than his opponent enabling him to attack Alvaro faster than he could react.

Glass fragments dug into his back as he got back on his feet. Alvaro groaned in pain as he felt glass shards digging further into his back reminding him of the punishment he had to endure when he had still been human. Blind rage began boiling up inside him as the memories resurfaced. Daniel chuckled: “Giving up already?” With an animalistic growl Alvaro crashed into the Dane. All air got knocked out of his lungs as he hit the ground and it took him a few moments before he was able to block the punches Alvaro was aiming at his face and shove the Spaniard off him. Daniel felt blood flowing out of his nose but he had not time to worry about that instead he kicked his opponent in the stomach before hitting him in the face again and again.

“Daniel!”, someone pulled him away from Alvaro and pushed him back until he felt a wall in his back, an arm on his chest kept him from attacking the Spaniard again. “What happened?”, he heard a second voice.

Xabi knelt beside Alvaro helping him sit up carefully while Steven kept Daniel in check. “What were you thinking? Did you attack him, Daniel?”, Steven sounded furious and quite frankly the Dane couldn't even blame him. He should have had himself under control instead of making a mess and injuring one of Raúl's sons. “I was only defending myself”, he grunted wiping blood of his nose. Xabi looked at his brother questioningly. “He deserved it”, Alvaro winced as he grew aware of the glass fragments in his back again. Now that the adrenaline was wearing off the pain seemed to double.

Daniel rested his head against the wall laughing throatily. Alvaro growled and tried to get up but Xabi's hand on his shoulder stopped him: “I'm gonna take him upstairs and get the glass out of his back.” Steven nodded: “And I'll get Daniel cleaned up.”

 

Cristiano sat up in bed, loud noises downstairs had woken him up. He blinked in confusion when he realised the light was still on. Fabio patted his knee but kept his eyes on his book: “It's okay, go back to sleep.”

“Fabio, there were fighting noises downstairs, I can't just go back to sleep. What if we're being attacked?”, he tore the covers away swining his legs out of bed. His boyfriend closed his book putting it down on the nightstand: “Cris, it's not our fight. Alvaro wanted trouble and Xabi will take care about it.” Cristiano looked at him in disbelief wondering how the younger one knew it was Alvaro who had gotten into a fight. “I saw him hanging back when the rest of us went to bed”, Fabio shrugged before laying down and patting the spot beside him. A small smile spread over the black haired's features and he slipped back under the covers pulling his boyfriend into his arms. Fabio rested his head on his boyfriend's chest clawing a hand into his shirt: “You don't always have to keep watch, you know? It's not your responsibility to keep all of us safe. Now, give yourself a break and try to sleep.”

Cristiano smiled kissing the top of his boyfriend's head before reaching over him to turn the lights off.

Guti turned around in bed swinging an arm over Raúl's waist: “Why do they have to fight now, can't they do that at daytime like normal people would?” The black haired smiled at the sound of his boyfriend's sleepy voice: “You know, Alvaro's never been one for good timing. Aren't you glad to be home again?” “Like hell, I am”, he grumbled pulling Raúl closer so he could spoon him, “he's gonna get his ass kicked for that tomorrow morning. He should be glad Xabi's handling this for now.”

Xabi dragged his brother upstairs into his treatment room making sure to close the door before hissing at Alvaro in a low voice: “What were you thinking? I told you, it was okay, you shouldn't have gotten involved.” He growled in response and earned a look of annoyance. “Don't get all moody with me now, this is your own fault. God damn it, I can't leave you alone for a second. Now, take off your shirt so I can treat you.”

Alvaro whinced in pain when he pulled the shirt over his head. During the fight the glass shards had dug deeper into his back making every movement painful. One by one Xabi pulled out the fragments, stopped the bleeding, disinfected the wound and bandaged his back. Alvaro gripped the treatment table's edges tightly and gritted his teeth to keep himself from screaming in pain.

“I don't need you to defend my honour, you know. And as much as I appreciate this, it was a really fucking stupid thing to do”, Xabi carefully ran his hand down Alvaro's back before stepping back, “there, all done. Be sure not to sleep on your back tonight and take these painkillers then you'll be good in no time.”

He nodded and slid off the table quickly taking the pills he was handed before heading for the door. Just before he left the room he turned back looking at Xabi: “Sorry.” The Basque nodded sighing: “Yeah, I know.”

 

When Xabi made his way downstairs the next day he was joined by Jesé: “Everything okay?” He looked at his younger brother questioningly. “Because of Alvaro's and Agger's fight. Got pretty loud last night and knowing Alvaro probably really ugly, too.” Xabi nodded: “They trashed the bar and unfortunately destroyed the blood supplies we had there-” “I didn't mean the damage they caused. I meant you. Are you okay?”

He earned another questioning look from his brother. “Alvaro getting involved in your business? Come on, did you really think you could keep your obvious connection to Steven and Daniel hidden? You're not stupid, Xabi, so don't play dumb with me”, he put his hand on the other one's shoulder, a concerned look in his eyes. Xabi forced a smile shaking off his hand before assuring him he was fine and thanking him for his concern. Jesé watched him taking off downstairs before turning around and heading to Fabio's and Cristiano's shared room.

“Any luck?”, Fabio already awaited him. Jesé shook his head and dropped down on the bed: “He won't talk to me about what happened. Then again I still don't know why I'm the one doing this.”

Fabio ran a hand over his face: “I had hoped since you're the youngest of us he might go easy on you and be more willing to talk. I guess, I can't read him as well as I hoped I could.”

While the two of them joined their brothers in the bar to help clean up the mess Raúl had called Alvaro into his office. Guti stood behind his boyfriend's chair observing the scene as Alvaro followed his father's request to take a seat. Raúl did not utter another word knowing his son was fully aware of what was expected from him.

Alvaro groaned leaning back in the chair and crossing his arms over his chest: “I'm sorry, okay? I know I shouldn't have done it but he had to be taught a lesson. He thinks he can do whatever he likes and just command people around and I'm not willing to let him make Xabi feel even worse than he already does.”

“Did Xabi ask you to do this?” “Well-” “Did he ask you to get involved?”, Raúl asked emphatically. His son looked at him for a moment before he gritted his teeth and shook his head.

“Alvaro, his problem with Daniel is entirely his business. I know you mean well and want to protect your brother but that does not give you the permission to make his business yours. We have much bigger problems at the moment, so please behave yourself and let Xabi handle this by himself”, Raúl looked at him expectantly, “understood?”

Alvaro looked at Guti who raised his eyebrows at him before nodding: “Fine, I'll stay out of it.” He got up and was about to leave when Marcelo opened the door. He seemed shaken: “You better come quickly.”

 

Guti's eyes instantly turned black when he saw who was standing in the bar. Knowing his boyfriend Raúl was quick to hold him back before he had the chance to attack their unexpected visitor.

Bastian Schweinsteiger extended his hand: “Raúl. It’s been some time.” “What do you want from us?”, he crossed his arms in front of his chest eyeing his opponent. Schweinsteiger withdrew his hand as Steven and Mats came up beside the two Spaniard's.

“Say the word and we'll tear him apart”, Mats growled but Raúl shook his head. “Not yet, I want to know what this is about.”

“We come in peace, I swear”, Schweinsteiger raised his hands, “we mean no harm.” “Yeah just like the last time we saw you, right? Oh wait”, Guti said daring him to say the wrong thing.” “That was different and you know that. Our pact with the Culés broke long ago, neither do we work with them, haven't in a long time as you know, nor do we want to be associated with them”, Schweinsteiger hissed and Raúl ran a hand down Guti's back to keep him calm.

“José, I want to talk to him alone. Let the Reds and the BVB guard his men”, Raúl turned around, “follow me, please.” Guti was about to protest but the stern look his boyfriend gave him kept him quiet. Schweinsteiger talked to his representative Philipp Lahm for a moment before following the Spaniard.

Raúl led him out onto the terrace asking him to wait for a moment as he disappeared into the house. Schweinsteiger took in his surroundings as he waited. Moments late he was rejoined by the Spaniard. He offered him a glass of blood wine before asking him to take a seat. Accepting the drink handed to him he sat down beside Raúl.

“Now, what is this really about?”, he took a sip from his drink. Schweinsteiger leaned back looking out at the forest bordering on the house's garden: “After the pact with the Culés broke I shut my clan off from the world but I kept watch on the other countries. I knew I couldn't make Xavi pay for what he'd done just yet, so I waited until I learned of the upcoming war you are facing. This is my opportunity to let him burn for what he did to me.”

Raúl was silent for a while occasionally taking a swig from his drink: “So, this is purely about revenge.” “Xavi made a mistake when he killed Lukas, then again he didn't know Lukas was the only one that kept me human.” The Spaniard nodded, he could only imagine what it felt like to lose the one you love more than anything in the world.

“As much as I understand your reasoning, we can't trust you. We are looking back on centuries of war with you and the Culés joined together, it's hard to forget about all the chaos you caused”, he set the glass down. “Then make a pact with me. I had to pay a high price for the last one I made and you can rest assured I would never make one again unless I was very desperate. This is my one chance to make Xavi pay, I am very desperate”, Schweinsteiger said. Raúl eyed him for a while eventually settling for what seemed logical to him, agreeing to to the pact.

Guti felt rather tempted to rip off his boyfriend's head after he informed him about his decision. It took Raúl quite a while to convince him they needed Schweinsteiger's people to stand a chance in the upcoming war and that he would have never offered a pact unless he was actually honest about his intention.

Afterwards Raúl excused himself to take care of an urgent matter. Schweinsteiger had proposed an idea to him that could potentially be their way into the Culés headquaters without losing too many people. La Latina was a crowded borough with lots of tourists pushing through the small alleyways to see what was by some described as the borough best representing what Madrid was all about. He would never understand how the wolves could bear to live in such a crowded place, then again they were more human than the vampires.

He pushed through the crowd until he reached the apartment building the wolves' leader and representative were living in. Ringing the doorbell he waited until he heard the buzzer pushing the door open and walking upstairs. Raúl was greeted by Nalia: “What do you want here?”

“It's good to see you, too Nalia. But I came to talk to Lya, may I?”, she stepped aside crossing her arms in front of her chest while eyeing him suspiciously. Lya was seated on the couch eating the remains of what might have been a human heart once. “Raúl, you should have announced yourself”, she gestured to a chair, “sit.” Nalia took her place beside her leader.

“I have a proposition for you”, he slowly sat down watching the woman licking the blood of her fingers,”I don't want to bring up bad memories but it's about Xavi.” Nalia growled lowly, her body tensing visibly while Lya straightened her posture placing a hand on her representative's knee to keep her from attacking Raúl.

“We are about to go to war against him and we need your help.” Nalia laughed humourlessly: “Help you? What you vampires do in your spare time is none of our business and if you want to fight a war it's certainly not our concern. I would never risk the lives of my wolves because you are bored and want to play a little.” “Nalia”, the other wolf growled warningly.

Raúl leaned back in the chair: “If I had a choice there would be no war. After everything Xavi has done to you, did you never want revenge? He cruelly murdered hundreds of your people, this is your one chance to pay him back. Lya, you know I would not ask this of you if I didn't have a good reason. The outcome of this war will decide Spain's fate, that includes you. This is your fight as much as it is mine.”

Both women looked at him silently considering his words. “Do you really want the past to repeat itself?”, he stood up. Lya ran her hand through her long black hair before mirroring his movements: “Fine, you'll get a few of my wolves. But you will assure they will make it back safely.” Raúl nodded in response before exiting the apartment.

Lya looked at the closed door before Nalia demanded her attention: “You don't actually mean to do that, right? This is crazy, they're going to kill our people.” “You will accompany them to assure no such thing will happen.”

Back at home Raúl was greeted with more good news, Gianluigi Buffon had arrived with a handful of his best soldiers. The Italian greeted him apologizing for failing to inform him about their arrival but they had received his message rather late and did not want to lose more time than they already had. Raúl thanked him for coming and then asked Alvaro to show them their quarters.

 

The wolves arrived the next day while Guti down in the bar enjoying his breakfast.

“Raúl!” He hurried down the stairs worried something might have happened. “What are the dogs doing here?”, Guti eyed the group of women that had entered the bar suspiciously. “Your sweetheart asked us for help, Gutierrez. If it was for me we wouldn't be here, believe me”, Nalia snapped.

“You asked the dogs for help? Come on, we're not that desperate.” Nalia balled her hands to fists snarling at him: “Okay, you call us dogs one more time-” “Then what?”, he build up in front of her before Raúl grabbed his arm to pull him back hissing at him to behave. Guti gritted his teeth and disappeared upstairs while his boyfriend thanked the women for coming to their help and leading them upstairs to meet with the other clan leaders.

“You want us to do what?”, Nalia almost crawled over the table to get her hands around Schweinsteiger's throat. “I'm sorry, do you need to go for a walk for a moment?”, the German asked grinning slyly. “We are not your bait! You want to get in? Use your vampires, there are way to many of those anyway.”

Raúl stepped in: “There is no need to get angry. We are no enemies. We will find a solution.” “I've got a solution. We send him and his people in as a distraction so the skilled ones can finish the job”, she snapped. He sighed deeply thanking the heavens for a moment that Schweinsteiger remained silent and only grinned at the woman.

“What if we send in a few vampires and a dog or two, would that please the flea-bag?”, Guti crossed his arms in front of his chest grinning. “You know where you can stick that, Gutierrez?”, Nalia growled, her dark eyes slowly turned into an icy blue. “José, stop it, this is not helpful”, Raúl snapped, he only rolled his eyes at him.

Gigi put a hand on Raúl's shoulder: “His wording might be a bit off but the plan isn't bad. We should not make the mistake to sacrifice the wolves. It'll only create another war and they are very valuable allies. The Culés and especially Xavi hate and fear them, we'd be stupid to waste them as a simple distraction. Using only a few will throw them off and allow us to enter without meeting too much resistance and it leaves us with enough of them for the actual battle. Back home in Italy, we live in peace with the wolves and work with them all the time.” “Would you look at that, a vampire who actually knows the concept of respect”, Nalia leaned back in her chair.

“I would like to offer to send a few of my soldiers with them to distract the enemy. They know their way around wolves and we wouldn't have to worry about them being at each others' throats.” She nodded: “Fine. If some of the Italians go in, I'll give you two wolves as a distractions so the rest of us can get in, I trust your soldiers will look after them, Buffon.” Gigi nodded in response.

Daniel pushed himself off the wall he had been leaning on, reminding the clan leaders that they still needed a way in for the distraction to be successful. Guti looked at Raúl before exiting the room and returning with Alvaro a few moments later.

“Alvaro, if we give you a small group of people could you lead them into the Culés' headquaters and distract them long enough for the rest of us to go in?” Raúl immediately wanted to protest, not willing to put his son's life on the line but he was faster: “Tell me who and when and I'll get them in.”

Raúl growled at Guti: “We are not sending our son in all by himself. That'll be his death sentence. We can send someone else.” “No, you can't. I'm the only one knowing the way out of all of us. I know you want to disagree but think about it. The one time someone else but me used that way you and Guti were half-dead, Sergio wasn't responsive and Iker and Daniel were trying to get you out of there without any of us getting killed. I'm an adult, I can make my own decisions, Raúl, whether you like it or not. I want to do this and I will”, the look in his eyes was almost challenging, daring his father to disagree once more. Before he had the chance to, however, Daniel offered to accompany Alvaro promising to assure his safety.

Raúl looked at him quietly entertaining the idea for a moment. He was sceptical remembering how last time the two of them had almost torn each other's throats out but then his eyes wandered over to Steven who nodded ever so slightly, silently confirming Daniel would behave. He sighed. Raúl knew when he was beaten therefore he agreed to the plan.

Alvaro eyed Daniel suspiciously but the latter didn't look at him.

After finally having solved the problem of how to get into the Culés' headquaters without losing too many soldiers the clan leaders finalised their plan for the battle. Alvaro and his group would enter first. Once they were inside he would alert the other clans by firing his gun twice. The different clans would each attack the headquaters from a different direction to corner their enemy. The Italian vampires and Los Blancos would stay together as their numbers were shorter than other clans' and the wolves would accompany them, too.

This strategy cut off their enemies' escape route and kept them in one place. Once everyone had entered the premsies the best they could do was fight and pray.

 

Raúl pinched the bridge of his nose blinking a few times trying to keep his eyes open. As tired as he was sleep refused to come so he was still sitting behind his desk reading the same sentence for the thousandth time without knowing what exactly he was reading. He had hoped pretending he wasn't sending his sons into certain death tomorrow by going over the restaurant's finances again would calm him and give him a sense of normality. Unfortunately he had been wrong and with every passing second the tight feeling in his chest got worse making him feel like he was about to suffocate.

Raúl hadn't suffered panic in a long time, the feeling almost unknown to him but with the approaching and inevitable war it was hard not to panic. He gripped the edge of his desk tightly fingers curling around the wood digging almost painfully into the surface while he tried to take deep breaths. A long time ago Xavi had taken something precious from him and he wasn't prepared to allow it to happen again.

He sat up straighter when the door opened but relaxed when he saw Guti enter. “José”, he sighed almost inaudibly and his boyfriend was behind his chair in seconds bending down to kiss his cheek and lock his arms around him. He leaned back relaxing further into his seat. Guti pulled him up after a while to be able to properly put his arms around his boyfriend without breaking his back and Raúl thankfully leaned into him knowing he would catch him.

Raúl didn't often allow his feelings to get the better of him but when he did he always knew he could count on Guti to be there and ease the worry without a word spoken. Eventually he allowed his boyfriend to lead him to their bedroom and lay him down before slipping under the covers beside him. He didn't let go of him all night.

Once Guti and Raúl had disappeared into their bedroom Alvaro's door opened. He quickly checked the corridor to make sure everyone else was already in bed before closing the door behind himself and making his way over to Jesé's room.

The younger vampire was awake and sat upright in bed flipping through the pages of some music magazine. He didn't bother looking up when Alvaro entered but hissed in annoyance when he took his magazine from him. “Shouldn't you be asleep?”, Jesé asked and Alvaro immediately got annoyed with his teasing tone.

“Quit mouthing off at me”, he grabbed the back of the younger's neck forcefully making him flinch slightly, “I want you to listen to me very carefully. I know you've got the others trusting you blindly by now but I didn't forget tomorrow means coming home for you. Should I get the slightest feeling you'll betray us, the tiniest hint that you're not as devoted to this family as you claim to be, I will end you in ways you can't even fathom.”

Jesé was quiet for a moment and Alvaro figured he had gotten his point across until a smirk spread across the younger's face. “You know, I was wondering when you'd come to threaten me. I thought it'd be sooner, you almost had me disappointed”, he tilted his head a little giving him an almost innocent grin. “You little”, Alvaro grabbed his neck a little tighter making him flinch again. Jesé pushed his bottom lip forward pouting: “Ow, I didn't even do anything yet and you're already attacking me, I feel like that's kinda breaking the rules.”

His older brother growled lowly and Jesé would have laughed out loud if he hadn't still been holding his neck. Slowly Alvaro released his neck after giving it one last painful squeeze: “I warned you.” The door slammed shut before he had the chance to make another comment.

Jesé released a breathe he hadn't realised he'd been holding and leaned back against the headboard. He could play pretend and tease as much as he wanted and he still couldn't help but fear Alvaro. He was well aware that, should he decide to, the older vampire could easily rip him to pieces. He sighed as he slid further under the covers and curled up in a ball trying not to think of the following day.

 

Dawn hadn't yet broken when Iker was on his feet showering and having a quick drink before waking his brothers and packing weapons. An uncomfortable chill sat in his bones although it was lovely summer morning and he couldn't shake the feeling of impending doom despite trying hard not to think of it. His brothers were all up and running around by now the low buzzing of voices filling the house making it almost feel like a normal day. Alvaro patted his shoulders as he passed him by offering a grin but Iker couldn't bring himself to return it. He didn't doubt his brother was equally worried, maybe even scared, but he had always been much better at hiding his feelings.

Sergio's arms wound themselves around his waist and his chin landed on his shoulder making Iker wince slightly not having noticed the younger following him out of their shared room. He received a quick kiss to the cheek before Sergio skipped down the stairs. It would have seemed like a normal day hadn't he felt the shaking in his boyfriend's hands when he'd tried to steady himself on Iker's body.

Xabi sat downstairs in the bar drinking down another blood whiskey in gulp as he watched Steven's soldiers march out of their quarter through the window. Hummels and Buffon exited their quarters at the same time their men following after them as Gigi laughed about a comment Mats had just made. From where he sat it almost looked like they were as happy as could be but even from the distance he noticed the frown on Mats' face and the laugther not reaching the Italian's eyes. The Bavarians took their time arriving last in front of Los Blancos' home. Even as they stood waiting for them to exited their home and join them Schweinsteiger was busy briefing his men one last time and giving last orders before they were to depart to Barcelona. He heard Steven's voice shouting something and his soldiers began moving around loading up the cars with weapons while he stood with the other leaders whispering to Gigi for a moment. Daniel appeared in his line of sight for a moment shouting orders before moving away again probably to help.

Xabi stood when Raúl and Guti came down the stairs signaling their sons to follow them outside.

“I suppose now we can't drag it out any further. It's time to go”, Raúl cleared his throat managing an encouraging smile before walking to his car. Guti followed after him with James, Gareth and Marcelo on his heels who would share a car with their fathers. The rest of them wordlessly separating into groups and spreading out over the remaining cars. Since the wolves had prefered to spend the night in one of the boroughs belonging to them they were good to go. The wolves would follow by foot trusting their legs rather than cars to safely carry them to their destination. Once everyone was seated they started the engines and began their way to Barcelona.

 

The ride was quite and Iker gripped the steering wheel tightly. Sergio sat beside him tense and lost in thoughts while Jesé listened to music and Luka stared out of the window in the back. Alvaro sped past them clearly lacking the patience to follow behind Iker's car and abide traffic regulations and he could have sworn he saw Xabi who occupied the passenger seat roll his eyes.

Due to the early hour of their departure traffic was good and they reached Barcelona in record time. Once they stopped the cars a little outside the city Jesé took his headphones out and briefed Sergio one last time while the rest of them unloaded the cars.

“Remember the training sessions. Eyes on yourself and yourself only. I know it's hard but it's your best bet to survive. The rest of us knows how to fight even if it doesn't look like it and you'd do best to watch out for yourself. Remember to keep your defense up at all times and to go for the legs first. They'll expect you to go for a straight punch to face so surprise them. Stay focused, you can't afford any distractions”, Jesé squeezed his shoulder tightly before grabbing his gun from the trunk and stuffing it into the holster on his belt, “you'll be fine.” Sergio nodded as he accepted the weapon his brother handed him.

He used the last couple of moments he had to look around himself. Everybody was arming themselves and receiving last orders, Steven hugged Daniel tightly who was about to leave with Alvaro, the two wolves and couple of Italian soldiers while Sergio's older brother received last minute instructions from Guti and the order to be careful from Raúl.

Iker grabbed his hand and he looked up. His boyfriend offered him a soft smile as he gently smoothed the frown on his face with his thumb: “We’ll be fine, Nene. I promise you, we will. And when this is over we'll have nothing left o fear.” Sergio gave him a quick kiss.

Xabi was the last to bid Alvaro goodbye. He had spend the most part of last night trying to think of something to say but now that he stood in front of him his head was empty. Alvaro grinned at him opening his mouth for a sarcastic remark when Xabi grabbed him and hugged him tightly. He closed his eyes breathing deeply hoping to convey his worry and his wordless plea for him to please come back home through the hug. Alvaro was a little taken aback since he wasn't exactly used to this kind of public affection from Xabi but he appreciated the sentiment and was quick to return the hug. They smiled at each other for a moment before he stepped back and watched his younger brother leave. Beside him Raúl took a deep breath before turning around to his remaining family: “Come home safe.”

Guti kissed him quickly as the other vampires surrounding them began making their way towards the Culés' mansion. “I love you”, Raúl leaned his forehead against his for a moment. “I love you, too”, they pulled apart and then followed their army.

 

Alvaro peeked around the corner careful to stay out of sight as much as possible before nodding back to wolves and the Italian vampires to follow him. They had passed through most of the underground system by now moving along the walls and keeping in the shadow to remain unseen, now they were about to reach the staircase that would take them up to the entrance room where they needed to be.

Just as they entered the large room a sneering voice caused them to look up to the top of the staircase leading to the upper level. “Getting a little reckless, are we?”, Xavi smirked as he looked down on the small group raising his head a little higher than necessary, “Did you really believe I didn't know you were here, Arbeloa?” Alvaro bit his tongue knowing now was not the time to talk back, he had a mission and his family was relying on him to fulfill it successfully.

“Why don't you get down here and see for yourself just how reckless I am?” Xavi chuckled lightly: “As tempting as that sounds, I think I'll let someone else handle it for me.” As soon as the words left his mouth Alvaro grew aware of footsteps steadily drawing nearer. He turned looking back at the corridor they had entered through and found the first of Xavi's soldiers marching out. When he turned back Valdés stood next to his leader. “That's an awful lot of soldiers for a group like us, don't you think?”, he cocked an eyebrow.

Xavi's smile dropped into an expression of annoyance: “How stupid do you think I am? Do you really think I'd believe Raúl would allow you to come here all by yourself? Are you dumb enough to underestimate me to the point you'd think it's safe to come with Italian vampires thinking I wouldn't know, thinking I'd believe they'd come without their leader? I know they are around here somewhere and rest assured I will find them. And when I do, you will regret ever setting foot into my territory.” Alvaro had just started his sentence when Xavi turned to Valdés and ordered him to rip them to shreds.

In an instant Alvaro and his companions formed a tight circled turning their backs to each other to face the enemy properly. The vampires took the wolves into their middle to shield them for as long as possible because while werewolves were strong they couldn't withstand a vampire's attack as long as a fellow bloodsucker could. However they were bigger in mass enabling them to crush a vampire and their strong jaws could cause horrible damage. Alvaro's body tensed up ready for the adrenaline and his fight-or-flight response to kick in: “Now, remember we have to draw as many in here as we can without dying.” He received a couple of nods before the first wave of soldiers crushed into them.

They took the first hit better than he had expected. Clearly Valdés had send younglings for the first wave of attack knowing they wouldn't be as valuable to him later on and were expendable. Thankfully Alvaro was equipped with a number of experienced fighters that were barely shaken and killed quickly and efficiently. Their strategy to keep their enemy coming for them proved to be very effective and soon he caught a glimpse of soldiers he knew to be more skilled between the younglings. They were waiting for now, watching from afar but once their circle broke they would no doubt receive the order to attack.

The entrance hall was, despite it's size, packed with people by now and with the dead bodies littering the floor around the offending group it was hard to still find space to move. “Alvaro, give the fucking sign”, he heard one of the Italians yell over all the noise and the screams. He shook his head despite knowing the other couldn't see him. Instead he broke the circle for a second allowing the teo wolves to escape. He had felt them move behind his back for some time now, pacing and anxious to join the fight.

Their howling was quickly drowned out by their victims screams and the loud cracking of bones.

Soon after their formation was broken by their enemy though as Dani Alves pounced on one of the Italian vampires dragging him to the ground with him. Alvaro drew his gun almost getting it knocked out of his hand when a youngling rushed into him. He fired twice into the boy's body knowing his father would get the hint before tearing the screaming and writhing kid's head off.

 

Soon enough the windows shattered and the front door splintered to pieces as the two German clans poured into the already cramped space stepping over dead bodies, blood immediately soaking their shoes. Los Blancos followed suit with Pepe making an entrance by using the splintered wood from the door to pierce the first couple of younglings getting in his way.

Sergio was one of the last to enter as the youngest family members had been ordered to wait for the elder to enter which Jesé had swiftly ignored entering right after Pepe. Sergio barely had any time to adjust to the situation before the first punch hit his gut. He had no idea who he was fighting, whether it was a youngling or someone he'd really have to be scared of but it didn't matter when his teeth sank into flesh without knowing where he'd hit his opponent. Screams pierced his sensitive ears and he almost reached up to cover them.

This was nothing what training had been like. This was a mess. A battle with no second chances given. Blood splattered and hit his face as someone's limbs were torn off beside him. He wasn't given the time to be disgusted as he felt hands closing around his neck. He couldn't see whoever was attacking him but felt the pain of his neck being stretched and skin beginning to tear. Sergio didn't register the growl to his left before the pressure was suddenly gone and he could breath again. He coughed trying to get air back into his lungs when he saw the wolf who had apparently saved him bite through the Culé's neck.

He shuddered and was soon attacked again.

Iker appeared next to him at some point. He was bleeding from his upper thigh and he walked with a bit of a limp. He crushed the vampire who had meant to attack Sergio from behind before he disappeared again.

It was hard to keep track of what was happening when blood and dead bodies obscured his vision. He thought he saw Daniel Agger in passing yelling something at him but he had no idea if it had been him.

Daniel was figthing his way over to Guti and Raúl who had stayed together slaying their enemy as the deadly team they were. “We got held back in- shit-”, he pierced a Culé, who had just broken Luka's neck, with a round of bullets, “in the underground system. Steven send me ahead but they won't make it here for a while. The vermin's everywhere.” “Find Mats, tell him to get his guys to help, we'll handle this mess”, Raúl shot him a quick smile but Daniel had already disappeared again.

Xavi remained at the top of the staircase keeping his distance from the actual fight. Every once in a while an enemy soldier would dare approach him but he had kept Valdés with him for a reason and knew he had nothing to fear. Nonetheless despite his calm exterior he was boiling with rage. What did he have spies for when they couldn't even spot a massive enemy army making their way for his headquater? It was driving him mad, knowing he hadn't seen coming what he should have been prepared for. His hands clenched tightly around the railing he was leaning against observing the battle to his feet.

He froze when he spotted a familiar face in the crowd he had been sure he'd never see again. In an instant he had left Valdés and made his way past fighting and dying soldiers, crushing an Italian's skull as he tried to attack him and eventually found himself face to face with the man he had believed dead.

“Bastian”, he sneered, “long time no see.” The German spun around recognizing his voice growling once he caught sight of his face. Xavi smirked completely ignoring the battle around them as he leaned against the closest wall eyeing his former ally: “I don't remember you to be so resentful.” Schweinsteiger didn't give him the chance to mock him further drawing his gun and firing silver into the Culé's chest. Xavi didn't scream. He roared like a wild animal ready to slay his prey. Schweinsteiger found himself crowded against the wall and felt the burning sting of silver in his abdomen. And then the madman's hands were on either side of his head effectively crushing his skull between them. There was no scream. It was over before he could. Blood soaked Xavi's clothes as he turned around triumphantly having rid himself of the man he should have murdered long ago.

Schweinsteiger's clan members stared in shock and disbelief at the slumped over form of their leader. But soon shock turned into snarls and growls and the Culés found themselves faced with a force and fierceness they hadn't expected.

Xavi wasn't given much time to celebrate his victory either. Before he could return to his previous position of safety he was dragged to the ground as a body landed on him. He found himself face to face with Jesé, the man he had failed to break.

Sergio was clutching his shoulder that one of the Culés had ripped a piece out of before he could kill him when he saw Jesé's back hitting a wall before Xavi crowded into his space. “Jesé!” “No!”, an arm in front of his chest stopped him from moving closer. He stared at Raúl in disbelief: “He might be killed if we don't do something.” “If we do, he definitely will be.” The look his father shot him left no room for discussions. Sergio didn't have much time to watch the fight as he found himself once again under attack. Adrenaline pumped through his veins keeping him up despite the fatigue that begun to settle deep in his bones now.

The entrance hall began to become less crowded as it was now filled with dead bodies more than with fighting soldiers. From the underground system the Reds now came pouring in giving the other vampires a new boost of strength and a sense of hope although they had already lost many men in this battle.

When Sergio turned back both Jesé and Xavi had disappeared.

Jesé mustered up the last bit of strength he had left. Both him and Xavi had fought themselves to the bone and both were weak with exhaustion. It was now a matter of who's will was stronger. He climbed to his feet, staggering over to where his enemy lay breathless and lossing blood from many wounds. He made no attempt to meet Jesé's efforts and remained where he lay.

“Get up”, he gestured with his hand towering over him. “I know when I'm beat.” Jesé growled and hoisted him up stumbling backwards with the effort: “I want to look you in the eye when you die. Like your soldiers did when they killed my family.”

“What makes you think I'll die?”, Xavi's laugh rattled in his chest and he started coughing because of the lack of air. “Why do think I survived?” The Culé gripped his ribs with the one arm he could still use, the other hanging limply off his body, he swayed a bit as he tried to balance himself. He began to realize, no matter how much he would stall him now, none of his men would come. As if to confirm his thought Valdés' head landed a few feet away from him. Xavi dropped the arm that had held his ribs and reached behind his back when Jesé lost his focus for a moment as he stumbled over broken bodies.

He thrust the knife forward and Jesé allowed it to pierce his body using his enemy's arm to pull him in and crush his ribcage pulling out his heart in the process. Xavi's body went limp and slumped to the ground.

Jesé dropped to his knees as his vision began to swim.

Guti didn't know what was happening when the remaining Culés suddenly began to run. He turned around looking for Raúl whom he had lost a while ago. Eventually he found him in pile of bodies turning over the corpses praying he wouldn't find his sons amongst them. “What's going on?” “Xavi is dead. They saw him fall.” Guti's face visibly lightened up and Raúl madea surprised noise when he was grabbed pulled flush against his chest and kissed. His clothes were sticky with blood and his body littered with wounds but he barely noticed when Guti held him dropping kisses on every part of his face he could possibly reach.

“José”, Raúl gently caressed his face but the look on his face was stern, “we have to find the boys.” Guti pulled away immediately and nodded. They went through mountains of bodies, their search growing more frantic with every passing minute until Raúl caught sight of a familiar face. He fell to his knees pushing the bodies piling up on top to the side before checking James' pulse and breathing a sigh of relief. “He's alive.” Guti took a deep breathe before he continued his search while Raúl carried James away to a safer place outside the building.

Sergio was covered in blood, mostly others', partially his own, making his hair sticky and him feeling gross. He wiped his hands on his jeans only to realize they were just as sticky as the rest of him. Leaning back against the closest wall he found he clutched his shoulder. All around him bodies were piling up and other clans looking for members between the dead.

He should be horrified. His conscious should make him hate himself for all the death and the pain but he was just numb. Nothing he had done in training could have prepared him for this. He had been so lost, aimlessly shooting his gun, attacking whatever moved. Sergio's let the back of his head hit the wall with a dull thud closing his eyes and breathing deeply. Suddenly there were hands on him and he was pulled into a solid chest. The person was speaking judging by the low rumble he could feel but his ears were covered by their arms muffling all sound around him. Eventually he was released to breathe again and found himself staring into Iker's soft brown eyes now filled with a look of worry and fear he had never wanted to see in them. Sergio reached up cupping his lover's check gently and tears began to fall from Iker's eyes as he pulled him close once again to lean his forehead against his.

Guti found them a while later hugging and praising both of them before leading them to the place Raúl was waiting with James, Fabio and Cristiano. James was still unconscious but his pulse was getting stronger and seemed to have no life-threatening injuries. Fabio was resting on the ground with Cristiano fussing over him. Upon closer inspection Sergio saw all the bleeding cuts and burned skin caused by silver on the Portuguese's body, condemned to leave scars and never heal properly. Slowly but surely the rest of the family found them. Pepe carried the heavily injured and unconscious Jesé, Gareth helped a limping Marcelo. Once Luka who miraculously received only minor injuries, Alvaro and Xabi were the only ones still missing.

Around them Dortmund and Munich's clans came together, Daniel helped Fernando over to where the Reds had gathered and the Italians even chatted lightheartedly. The surviving wolves sat in front of the building in their wolf-form heads hanging low mourning their fallen sisters.

Dawn was breaking and Sergio hadn't realized they had fought through day and night. Eventually Raúl stood up. “Iker, stay with your brothers. Tend to them the best you can. I need to find Alvaro and Xabi”, Iker didn't dare to object. He was equally worried about his brothers.

Guti accompanied his lover back inside where they returned to turning over dead bodies.

They found them at the foot of the staircase. Alvaro was laying on the ground in a puddle of blood, one hand curled into the fur of a dead wolf lying beside him. Raúl recognized the black fur and briefly closed his eyes, Nalia was dead. Xabi was kneeling beside his brother frantically moving his hands on the side of Alvaro's body their leaders couldn't see.

Alvaro's eyes fluttered shut and Xabi breathed out an desperate “No”. He looked up and saw his fathers. “Help me”, he waved them over. As they moved closer they saw what had Xabi so desperate. Alvaro's left arm lay next to him, detached from his body and blood was flowing freely. “I don't know what happened”, Xabi said, voice trembling slightly, “I found him like this. He was barely awake. I couldn't help Nalia anymore, she was already dead. I tried to stop the bleeding but I have no proper bandages.”

Raúl hugged him tightly, trying to reassure him: “You did your best. It's okay, we'll fix this. We have to get him out of here so we can fix this.” Xabi shook his head: “I don't know if he's going to survive this.” Raúl paid him no mind as he watched Guti pick up his broken son and carry him outside. He lead Xabi to the others where they found Alvaro already laying on the ground again as Iker and Guti did their best to stop the bleeding.

Daniel Agger came over: “Need some help?” He gestured for Alberto Moreno who had accompanied him to step closer. The young man held a first-aid-kit. Iker and Guti both wordlessly stepped back and watched in silence as Moreno pulled out bandages and got to work on Alvaro's arm.

Xabi leaned into Raúl: “If he survives this, fixing his arm will be no problem. But he has to survive, I-” “He will”; his father gently cut him off, “he's strong. Sit down, rest. You're exhausted.” Now that he had mentioned, the Basque felt the fatigue in his bones, his aching muscles and tired eyes. He dropped to the ground right where he was standing and stretched out in the grass. As much as he wanted to help Alvaro and fix him in his current condition he wasn't much of a help.

Pepe who had returned inside the Culés' headquater and raided their blood and medical supplies came back to the group. Moreno accepted the things handed to him giving Alvaro an infusion before finishing up on the bandages on his arm: “He lost a lot of blood so make sure to keep the blood running. He's still in a bit of a critical condition but I did what I can and once the blood loss had been equalizied he should be okay.” Raúl thanked him before giving his family his full attention once again.

 

The battle had hit all the clans hard. Dortmund and Munich had to process high losses due to their usually peaceful and fight avoiding nature. The Reds had lost men, too but they could handle the number well. Gianluigi Buffon had one of his soldiers to mourn while the wolves lamented the loss of three of their sisters, amongst which was also their leader's representative.

The wolves insisted on recovering their fallen and as all of them could understand their loss the vampires helped them recover the bodies. The large animals had returned to their human form, as all fallen wolves did and were easy to recover. As the vampire clans were much less sentimental about their losses they allowed their dead to rest in peace where they had died. The Culés' headquater was burned down, destroying every trace of their existence. Those who had fled would be searched for and found at a later date.

Together they returned to Madrid where they tend to their wounded. The wolves returned home, informing their leader of the sad news and they weren't seen much the next weeks and months. While the BVB, the Reds and the Italians soon returned home, Raúl had offered Philipp Lahm, Munich's new leader, to remain in Madrid a while longer to reorganise and stabilise the relationship between the two clans.

Once they had returned home, Xabi took to treating James, Sergio, Fabio, Jesé, Marcelo and Alvaro. Marcelo had broken his leg during the battle but it wasn't enough to make his smile falter. Instead he asked all the vampires he could find to sign his cast. James had received a strong blow to the head which had left him unconscious after the battle but had no dangerous wounds that couldn't be fix with a few bandages and some time.

Fabio's body would remain scarred as they all had known but he wore them proudly and Cristiano made sure to let him known just how much more he loved him now. Sergio didn't have much choice but to wait. His body would have to heal his shoulder itself since Xabi couldn't regrow flesh and skin but he bandaged it nonetheless to ensure it wouldn't get infected and gave Sergio pills to numb the pain.

Jesé and Alvaro were a bit more complicated. Jesé had received a lot of wounds during his fight with Xavi. He had broken several bones, one of his rips had almost pierced his lung, he several flesh wounds and his shoulder had been crushed. Xabi and Alberto Moreno, who had offered to stay behind and help, operated him four times to correct bones an fix his shoulder to their best ability.

Alvaro was put into an artificial coma to benefit his recovery and keep from experiencing pain. The doctors stitched his arm back together but it took a week until his body had fully healed itself and the nerve endings had reconnected and the narcotics were reduced to wake him up again.

Xabi never left his side during his time of recovery often sleeping at Alvaro's bedside until Guti or Raúl send him to bed. Alvaro's and Jesé's recoveries would take time but they lived and their family would do everything in their power to help them along the way.

Their enemy had been defeated and though Munich had lost their clan leader, the wolves had lost their co-leader, there were many dead to mourn for and some Culés were still running free, Raúl's family was now safe and the vampires could live in peace.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you very much for reading. If you liked this please be so kind and leave me a comment. Thank you so much to everyone who supports this story. Big hug to everyone who took the time to read this


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